Bombing, Mosque Riot Rock Islamabad

Pakistani police officers stand guard in the radical Red mosque during a visit of Pakistani religious minister, Thursday, July 26, 2007 in Pakistan. Authorities demolished the seminary Jamia Hafsa adjacent to the mosque which was allegedly a safe heaven for militants and taken over by government forces after a fierce fight which left over hundred people dead. The Pakistani capital's Red Mosque, where a siege against Islamic militants ended in bloodshed two weeks ago when troops stormed in, will reopen Friday. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash) (B.k.bangash - AP)

Television footage showed rescuers rushing bodies from the scene, many bleeding and others partially stripped of their clothes and with skin blackened and raw from the blast.

Khalid Pervez, Islamabad's top administrator, said 13 people were killed, including seven police, and 71 were wounded, mostly bystanders.

Cheema said investigators had also recovered a head believed to be that of the attacker.

There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Islamic militants were strongly suspected. It was the second major bombing to hit this city in 11 days. A July 17 suicide attack killed 16 people at a planned rally for the country's top judge.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz condemned the latest attack and said it would not deter the government's resolve to fight terrorism, the state Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Islamabad had been gradually recovering from the mosque siege that left at least 102 dead, although security forces are still deployed at sandbagged bunkers on street corners.

Authorities had repaired the blast-scorched interior of the mosque, its damaged minarets and the bullet-riddled roof over its entrance hall.

But hopes that reopening the mosque would cool public anger over the siege _ amid lingering skepticism over the official death toll _ were dashed.

Bearded religious students and other hard-liners who gathered for prayers soon began chanting anti-government slogans and took control of the mosque compound.

"Musharraf is a dog! He is worse than a dog! He should resign!" students shouted.

They demanded the mosque's former chief cleric, Abdul Aziz, be allowed to lead the prayers. Aziz was caught trying to escape the mosque compound during the siege wearing a woman's burqa. He is currently in government detention.

The crowd also shouted support for Aziz's brother, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who led the siege until he was shot dead by security forces after refusing to surrender. He had spearheaded a vigilante, Islamic anti-vice campaign that had challenged the government's writ in the city.