Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- At least 59 people were killed and several others injured in twin suicide bomb explosions today at a weapons factory near Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, police said. This is the second bomb attack in the country in three days.

``Around 59 people lost their lives and 100 were injured,'' Rawalpindi police chief Nasir Durrani told reporters in Islamabad. ``A suicide bomber's jacket was also found nearby and defused.''

The bombs were detonated outside two gates, about 200 meters apart, of the government-run Pakistan Ordnance Factory in Wah town as employees were leaving at the end of the morning shift at 2:30 p.m. local time, senior superintendent of police operations Yasin Farooq said by telephone. Two or more suicide attackers may have detonated the bombs, he said.

The factory in Wah, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Islamabad, manufactures infantry and artillery weapons, tanks and mortar bombs for the country's military, according to the company's Web site. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or the Taliban Movement of Pakistan, claimed they carried out today's attacks, GEO Television reported, citing the group's spokesman Maulvi Omar.

A suicide bomb explosion in the northern city of Dera Ismail Khan killed 15 people on Aug. 19. Pakistani Taliban leaders said they carried out that attack, according to Dawn News TV.

Attacks Threatened

Omar said today more attacks would take place unless the military operation in the country's tribal areas is stopped, GEO reported. Pakistani Taliban leaders threatened this month to carry out suicide attacks in major cities, including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, unless the military halts its offensive in the northwestern Swat Valley.

The government, led by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, says it is trying to combat extremism by using a combination of negotiation, economic and political development and the selective use of military force. Terrorist attacks killed more than 2,000 people in Pakistan last year.

U.S. President George W. Bush, at his Texas ranch, called Gilani today to express sympathy for the terrorist attacks. Both leaders reaffirmed support ``for going after these extremists'' that pose threats to both nations and the world, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in an e-mailed statement.

Militants Blamed

The government of former President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan blamed the attacks on militants opposed to his support of the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism. The coalition government will continue to fight terrorism, alliance leader Asif Ali Zardari said in a statement today.

Musharraf was forced to quit Aug. 18 by the four-party ruling coalition that took power in March after defeating political parties loyal to the former president a month earlier.

A dispute between the members of the ruling alliance over reinstating judges sacked by Musharraf last year has distracted the coalition government from tackling militancy in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

The army has been fighting since last year against supporters of Maulana Fazlullah, a pro-Taliban cleric who wants to impose Islamic law in Swat, a once-popular tourist destination about 250 kilometers from the capital.

Troops have killed 103 militants in Swat Valley since a two- month cease-fire broke down and fresh clashes began last month, the military said this week. The security forces have also been fighting militants in the tribal area of Bajaur.

To contact the reporters on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net; Khaleeq Ahmed in Islamabad at paknews@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 21, 2008 10:52 EDT