A suicide bomber blew himself up in a busy commercial area near the army's General Headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday, killing at least 34 persons, including military personnel, in the latest in a series of deadly terrorist attacks that have rocked Pakistan.

The explosion occurred outside a bank branch where a long queue of people was waiting for receiving pension and salaries on the first working day of the month. About 50 persons were also injured.

“A motorcycle rider is suspected to have blown himself up outside the bank office,” city police chief Rao Iqbal Tarin told reporters. Some body parts of bomber, including a head and a suicide jacket, have been recovered from the blast site.

The site of the blast is surrounded by some key buildings and offices, including military hospital, a five-star hotel and other military and civil installations, due to which the area was declared high security zone.

Early last month on October 10, nine attackers tore into these defences to enter the GHQ and kept hostage 43 personnel of the Military Intelligence (MI). The bloody episode culminated in the death of eight militants while commandos arrested one with critical injuries during the rescure operation. Monday’s explosion left bodies on the ground outside the bank and in a nearby hotel parking lot, witness Zahid Dar said.