38 Dead in 2 Convoy Bombings in Pakistan

A Pakistani masked tribal militant with assault rifle smashes an audio player seized in a raid at a music market in Khar, the main town of Pakistani tribal region Bajur along Afghan border, Friday, July 13, 2007. A group of 50 masked tribal Islamic militants, who call themselves "Mujahedin" or Islamic warriors smashed video cassettes confiscated from local music shops and demanded an end to vice and adherence to strict Islamic law. Militants in a show off force paraded men they accused of selling illegal drugs through a bazaar in Pakistan's lawless border area with Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Haji Habibullah Khan) (Haji Habibullah Khan - AP)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A suicide bomber attacked a military convoy near the Afghan border on Saturday, killing at least 24 Pakistani soldiers as thousands of troops deployed to thwart a call for an anti-government holy war.

Three roadside bombs simultaneously tore into a military convoy elsewhere in the border region early Sunday, killing 14 security personnel and civilians, the army spokesman said.

The escalating violence along the frontier, a haven for Pakistani and foreign extremists, follows the government's bloody attack on Islamabad's Red Mosque that sparked calls for revenge from radical groups.

Pakistani commandos overran the mosque Wednesday, ending an eight-day siege with a hard-line cleric and his militant supporters. More than 100 died during the standoff.

With Sunday's attack, at least 67 people have been killed in bombings and shootings in the north since the Red Mosque crisis began July 3.

Twenty-nine troops were wounded in Saturday's attack in North Waziristan, one of the deadliest suicide bombings in Pakistan in recent months, said Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad.

Although no one claimed responsibility, Arshad said he could not rule out the possibility that it was a reaction to the assault on the mosque.

On Sunday, a convoy of army and paramilitary troops was attacked in Swat, a mountainous area of North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, police officer Humayun Khan said.

Troops opened fire after the attack and a gun battle was continuing, he said.

Arshad said in Islamabad that 29 soldiers also were wounded as the explosions destroyed two army vehicles and a bus carrying troops in the long convoy. He had no details on four civilians who were among the dead.

Some reports from the area said a suicide bomber was involved in the attack.

One intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the convoy was hit by a suicide bomber and two roadside bombs, giving the death toll as 15.