Two powerful explosions took at least 25 lives in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, officials informed Tuesday.

The city is located near Islamabad and serves as headquarters for Pakistan’s Armed Forces. A first blast ripped through a bus transporting military personnel during the early hours, 16 people being killed on the spot and at least 20 injured, army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad reported.

Shortly after the first explosion, a second one occurred near the army’s headquarters. An explosive device attached to a motorbike went off, taking the lives of nine people and wounding 40 more persons.

Initially, police sources said the people onboard the bus weren’t military employees, but the army reported most persons were members of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), one of the three main intelligence agencies of Pakistan.

Security forces cordoned off the areas and launched an investigation, police suspecting two suicide attackers were responsible for the blasts. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the succession of the explosions indicates they were coordinated, officials said.

Numerous security troops were deployed on the city’s streets after these incidents, which come in a time when Pakistan prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections.

The country’s Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said, “Those involved in these bombings will be brought to justice,” adding, “Militancy and extremism is harming Pakistani society.”

In other developments, militants attacked paramilitary forces in South Waziristan and killed one soldier. Four servicemen was also injured when several rockets landed near a checkpoint in the volatile area bordering Afghanistan, media reports said.

Extremists launched fierce attacks against government troops since a standoff at the famous Las Masjid mosque in Islamabad ended with a dramatic siege that led to the death of at least 100 alleged militants in July.

Suicide attacks killed at least 30 people in Islamabad in the same month, the violence extending to the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. Pro-Taliban militants and security forces clashed weekly in the mountainous area, more than 300 persons being killed in fire exchange or bomb attacks since this flare up of violence.

Instability continues to ravage the region just weeks before President Pervez Musharraf will run for another five-year term. Shortly after the presidential election takes place, parliamentary elections will be held.

Several high-ranked officials are concerned that these incidents could hamper the process and new attacks will occur as the elections close in.