A suicide bombing attack by suspected Islamist militants in the Pakistani city of Lahore has killed five people this morning.

A Pakistani navy spokesman said that at least one bomber had driven a truck to the entrance of the Pakistan Navy War College in the city, about 180 miles southeast of the capital, Islamabad.

Police put the toll at five dead, including the bomber. Reports that more than one bomber was involved in the attack had not been confirmed this morning.

Pictures from the scene showed a damaged truck near the bent and buckled gates of the college. Emergency vehicles were seen at the premises.

Bhutto was killed by bomb blast

The team from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command have backed the claim that Benazir Bhutto was not shot

Multimedia

• Pictures: death of Benazir Bhutto

• Pictures: Pakistan

Background

• Pakistan in turmoil as ‘martial law’ imposed

• Bhutto escapes as bombers kill 126

• Timeline: Pakistan's period of turmoil

• The man out to oust a President

• Internal crisis gives Pakistan reason for hope

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"I saw a fully charred body," one witness at the scene told the Reuters news agency. "A black cloud of smoke was rising from the scene as I reached there."

The blast coincides with a visit by the Admiral Mike Mullen, of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the Islamabad, where he was due to hold talks with Pakistan’s military leadership and President Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan is still reeling from a bombing campaign waged by Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Taleban which has been fought over the last few months.

During a lengthy period of instability, President Musharraf caused international condemnation by declaring a state of emergency and imprisoning opposition members and judges, while Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was killed in a suicide bombing during a political rally. Overall, more than 500 people have been killed in violence between Islamist insurgents near the Afghanistan border and the Pakistani military, and in suicide bomb attacks, since the start of the year.

Tackling the violence will provide a tough test for the incoming government following elections two weeks ago which saw no clear winner emerge, sparking coalition talks between opposition parties hostile to President Musharraf.

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