Islamabad: Blasts at Cafeteria Kill Two People

The International Islamic University was established in the 1980s. Its sprawling campus, on the outskirts of the city, has more than 12,000 students, nearly half of them women. Many of the students come from abroad. Most take Islamic studies of some description , The Associated Press reports.

It was also reported, the explosions occurred within minutes of each other.

"We have sent a team to the site. We are collecting information about casualties," a policeman said.

Police said that one of the bombs had been detonated by a suicide bomber in a cafeteria for female students.

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from the scene, said: "We can see bits of clothes, scraps of books and a lot more worrying, very thick, dark red blood.

"There's a thick heavy smell of smoke hanging in the air and every step we take have been punctuated by the sound of broken glass.

"The windows have been buckled, and the walls have fallen in... looking at the extend of the damage, I can understand why [the toll] may possibly rise," Aljazeera.net reports.

It was also reported, there was no immediate claim of responsibility.However, Taliban and al-Qaida-linked extremists have carried out a two-year campaign of suicide bombings and commando raids that have killed 2,250 people.

A spike in attacks since October 5 which have left more than 170 people dead has underlined the scale of the insurgency that authorities are trying to halt.

The Taliban last week staged an audacious attack on army headquarters in Rawalpindi, the garrison town adjoining Islamabad, with 23 people killed and 39 hostages freed by troops.

Five UN World Food Programme workers were also killed earlier this month when a suicide bomber walked into their office in Islamabad and blew himself, dressed in military uniform.

Authorities believe many of the bombings and suicide attacks in Pakistan, as well as attacks in the West, are being planned in the semi-autonomous tribal area of South Waziristan where the army launched its offensive on Saturday, Times of India reports.