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Bombings rock Pakistan ahead of elections

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  • NEW: NATO fires rockets at insurgents preparing to target base
  • Elections to replace Musharraf set for September 6
  • Assembly will discuss controversial issue of reinstating fired judges
  • Police say Taliban suicide bombers kill at least 66 at military arms factory
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Taliban claimed responsibility Thursday for dual suicide bombings at a Pakistani military arms factory that police said killed 66 people and wounded more than 70 others.

Police and authorities investigate the scene of the arms factory blast in Wah, near Rawalpindi.

Police and authorities investigate the scene of the arms factory blast in Wah, near Rawalpindi.

The spokesman for Pakistan's Taliban, Maulvi Omar, said his group, Tehrik-e-Taliban, was responsible for Thursday's attacks.

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up near the gates of the military arms factory in Wah, near Rawalpindi, where Pakistan's military is based. The attack took place during a shift change at one of several factories that employ several thousand people.

It was the second deadly suicide attack in the country since President Pervez Musharraf resigned Monday.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack, his spokesman said in a statement. Video Watch a report on the deadly attack »

President Bush called Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani to express his sympathies for the recent attacks, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

Bush also told Gillani that he had spoken to Musharraf on Thursday to thank him for "his efforts in the democratic transition of Pakistan, as well as the fight against al Qaeda and extremist groups," Johndroe said.

Omar promised more attacks as long as Pakistan continued its military operations in Bajaur Agency, a tribal region where the military has launched a major offensive against militants.

On Tuesday, a suicide bomber detonated explosives near the emergency entrance to a hospital in the Dera Ismail Khan district, killing 29 and wounding another 35. The Taliban also claimed responsibility for that attack.

Pakistani security forces have been battling Islamic militants in the country's tribal regions that border Afghanistan. Clashes have killed dozens since late June. And militants have vowed to retaliate.

Muhammad Amir Rana, director of an Islamabad-based think-tank, said he expected the militants to increase their attacks as a show of force against the new government now that Musharraf is out of power.

The violence comes as the country's election commission announced Friday that the election to replace Musharraf will be held September 6, saying candidates have until August 26 to indicate that they will run.

An executive committee of the Pakistan People's Party -- which heads Pakistan's ruling coalition -- is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss possibilities for its candidate to succeed Musharraf.

Asif Ali Zardari, the PPP co-chair and widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is among those being considered, said National Assembly member Farahnaz Ispahani. Bhutto was assassinated during a campaign rally in December.

Pakistan's four provincial assemblies and parliament will choose the new president.

The act of picking Musharraf's successor has taken a back seat as the two political parties that lead the ruling coalition wrangle over restoring the 60 judges Musharraf fired when he declared a state of emergency last November.

A leading politician told CNN Friday that the assembly plans to discuss the the issue of reinstating fired judges Monday and Tuesday.

Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, the junior partner in the ruling coalition, predicted the judges would be reinstated by Wednesday.

Pakistani newspapers and bloggers have urged the PPP and the PML-N to reconcile their differences and tackle the country's more pressing concerns: the economy and terrorism.

The PML-N indicated Thursday that it may pull out of the coalition unless the judges were quickly reinstated, claiming that the PPP was reneging on assurances.

The PPP wants the coalition to focus on picking a successor for Musharraf, but if the PML-N pulls out, the coalition will probably crumble unless the PPP can line up enough smaller parties to retain a majority.

Sharif says the co-chair of the PPP, Asif Zardari, had agreed before Musharraf left office to reinstate the judges within 24 hours of the president's resignation. Though that deadline has passed, he urged the PPP on Friday to stick to that agreement.

Wasef Syed of the PPP, however, told CNN that he's unaware of an agreement between Zardari and Sharif to have the judges reinstated.

The PPP said it hoped the PML-N stayed in the coalition.

"We will definitely try our outmost to ensure that they will not pull out because we have promised to work together to serve the country," said Farzana Raja, central coordinator for the PPP. "If they want to do something in haste, they have all the right to do that. We cannot force them to be with us. But we are trying to reach a consensus."

They fired judges include 14 of 18 judges who sat on the Supreme Court. Critics say Musharraf sacked the judges because they were preparing to rule against the legitimacy of his third term in office. He had been re-elected president by a parliament stacked with his supporters, they said.

After sweeping into power in parliamentary elections, the coalition promised to reinstate the judges within 30 days of taking office. Then the PPP said it would need another 12 days to fulfill the promise. That deadline also came and went.

Conflicts continued Friday as troops with NATO's International Security Assistance Force launched artillery rounds across the Afghan border into Pakistan against insurgents who were preparing to fire rockets at them Friday night, according to an ISAF statement.

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The ISAF rocket launches were ordered after "Pakistan military confirmed insurgents were preparing to fire rockets at an ISAF base in Paktika province," ISAF said.

ISAF said that Pakistan officers reported that "all rounds were on target, with no civilian casualties." ISAF said it was not able to confirm how many insurgents died in the attack.

CNN's Reza Sayah and Saeed Ahmed and journalist Kamran Yousaf contributed to this report.

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