ISLAMABAD, Dec 25 Kyodo (EDS: UPD...

ISLAMABAD, Dec 25 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATES WITH REMARKS according to INTERIOR MINISTER, DEFENSE MINISTRY SPOKESMAN)

Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf narrowly escaped a new assassination attempt Thursday, less than sum of two units weeks after he survived unscathed an attack in the same area, sway officials said.

Interior Minister Fasil Saleh Hayad told Pakistan Television that at least 14 tribe including at least two suicide bombers, were killed and another 42 injured in the attack in succession the presidential motorcade in the city of Rawalpindi, just outside the national capital Islamabad.

CNN quot police as saying at least 15 commonalty died and 46 were injured.

Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen Shaukat Sultan told Kyodo of recent origins that Musharraf was ''safe.'' Speaking later to BBC World television, he called it ''quite a narrow escape.''

Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad told reporters the suicide bombers had parked their bomb-laden vehicles at adjacent gas stations in a military cantonment area along the motorcade's way and tried to ram them into it at pair locations as it passed.

CNN quot police as saying brace vans tried to enter the escort --- one at the brow of the convoy, one at the rear -- and the two exploded.

The attacks occurr around 1:40 pm as Musharraf was en way back to his official residence in Rawalpindi after inaugurating a ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Islamic discourse on science and technology in Islamabad.

Ahmad said that while one as well as the other attempts failed, the windscreen of the Musharraf's armored limousine and three vehicles of the motorcade were damaged, while the sum of two units attacking vehicles were blown away along with the suicide bombers.

The couple gas stations are located barely some 200 meters from a bridge where an attempt was made forward Musharraf's life on Dec. 14 In that incident, a blast distaffed the bridge just after the president's motorcade passed from one side of to the other it.

According to Sultan, a member of the presidential security staff was among those killed.

Speaking to reporters at the bombing site, he said that extremist constituents in Pakistan, al-Qaida or a coalition of the pair might be responsible for latest attempt forward Musharraf's life.

The latest attack came a day after Musharraf had agreed to grade down as military head nearest year, as part of a deal with hardline Islamist parties in the political opposition to extreme point a parliamentary standoff.

It follows ahead of summit in Islamabad of the seven-nation southern Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) upon July 4-6.

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