QUETTA - Twin bombing at the residence of Frontier Corps (FC) DIG Quetta killed wife of the DIG, a Colonel and 22 others, and wounded more than 82 persons, eleven of them seriously. FC Deputy Inspector General Brigadier Farrukh Shahzad himself and one of his children too sustained injuries in the revenge assault on the security force responsible for the recent capture of senior al-Qaeda operatives. All of a family of five civilians, including three children, was also killed. CCPO Quetta Ehsan Mehbob said the DIG was the primary target the double attack, which was claimed by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) whose suicide attackers struck at rush hour and exacted a high toll in an area packed with security personnel guarding Quettas officials and government buildings. One attacker hit an FC vehicle by detonating his bomb-laden car, burning three FC personnel alive inside the vehicle, outside the DIGs residence in Civil Lines area near commissioner office. Flames from the blast also engulfed other security vehicles and motorcycles parked outside Brigadier Farrukhs residence, where paramilitary forces had been waiting to escort the deputy inspector-general to work. Some five minutes later, a second attacker opened indiscriminate firing and barged into the residence and blew himself up, killing FC administrator Colonel Khalid Masood and wife of FC DIG Farrukh Shazad and wounding Brigadier Farrukh himself and one of his children. Official sources said that Colonel Khalid Masood reached the spot after the first blast and was entering the residence when second bomber stuck. The explosions brought down the walls of DGs house and damaged commissioners office, a mosque and other nearby offices. Eight vehicles, four auto rickshaws and several motorcycles were ripped apart by the force of the blasts. A man drenched in blood sat dazed beside the road next to the dead body of a baby, whose mother was also killed. Two children and at least 11 troops 9 from the Frontier Corps and two from the Balochistan Constabulary (BC) were among the dead, senior police official Hamid Shakil said. The dead also included a Colonel named Khalid Masood and seven of Shehzads guards. The death toll has gone up and 24 deaths are now confirmed. Four of killed FC troops were identified as Lance Naik Hashiq, Hwaldar Rashid, sepoy Sabzal Ali and Muhammad Hanif of FC, while the names of the two BC personnel who died were Shahfi Muhammad and Ajab Khan. Five persons of a family, including three children, who had come to Quetta from Loralai, were killed as the auto rickshaw they were riding was blown apart by the first of the blasts. There were at least 82 people wounded and taken to different hospitals. We have reports that at least seven of them are seriously hurt, said Hamid. A mosque and official residences nearby were also badly damaged, he said. Heavy contingent of police, FC and other security agencies reached the scene and started rescue activities. The bodies and injured were shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Civil Hospital Quetta and Bolan Medical Complex where emergency was declared. According to hospital sources condition of several injured people was serious and it was feared that death toll may rise further. Hamid Shakil said the head of one of the bombers was found, along with an identity card that indicated he could have been from Afghanistans Kunduz province. Other sources said the identity card described the man as Ahmed Gul, 17, resident of Kunduz province of Afghanistan. The features of the attacker, whose head had been found, indicated he may have been from Afghanistans Tajik ethnic group, said the senior security official. Hamid said the car had been packed with 50 kilogrammes of explosives. Director Civil Defence Saleh Muhammad Nasir said that explosives used in both suicide blast was of different kinds and material used in one of the suicide blast had never been used in blasts that took place in the past. The blasts were so powerful that windowpanes of government and private buildings as far as half kilometre from the site were shattered. Some nearby buildings and walls also developed cracks. Electricity poles and cables in the area were also bunked. Being the second top official of Frontier Corpse Brigadier Farrukh understandably played an important role in the capture of a high ranking Qaeda leader Younis al-Mauritani and two other al-Qaeda operatives in a joint operation of security forces in Quetta which was announced Monday. Al-Qaeda is thought to be weakened by the killing of Osama bin Laden by US special forces in Pakistan on May 2 and other setbacks including the capture of Mauritani, analysts say. Mauritani has been described as a senior al-Qaeda leader who was plotting attacks against American and other Western targets. But Wednesdays attack illustrates how al-Qaeda can turn to close allies like the Taliban to help it wage holy war during difficult times. Our fidayeen (suicide bombers) have carried out this attack. It is a revenge for the arrests of our brothers in Quetta, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. If they make more arrests then the reaction will be much more forceful. Ehsanullah also told AFP in a phone call that his group was behind the attacks to avenge the arrest of our mujahedin brothers by Pakistani security forces in Quetta recently. Asked whether he was referring to al-Mauritani and two others, he said Yes. We will launch a bigger attack in future, Ehsan said. This attack has all the hallmarks of the Taliban. It seems to be revenge for the arrest of al-Mauritani, said a senior security official. The Civil Lines area where the two suicide blasts took place is high security zone and important government and sensitive offices are located in the said area. President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Ali Magsi and Chief Minister Raisani have strongly condemned the suicide attacks. They said that terrorists cannot weaken the government resolve and stance to wipe out terrorism and extremism through such coward acts. Balochistan governor and chief minister visited the blast site and strongly condemned the blasts. The chief minister also visited hospitals where he inquired about the health of injured persons and ordered for immediate inquiry into the incident.