Islamabad, March 8 (DPA) A car bomb Tuesday killed at least 20 people and injured around 100 in eastern Pakistan, police said.

The explosion took place at a compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling station in Faisalabad, some 120 km west of Lahore, the capital of the country's largest province Punjab.

"The bomb was planted in a vehicle which was parked near the compressor of the CNG station," district police chief Aftab Cheema said. "Twenty people are dead and around 100 are injured."

It demolished several buildings in the area where various government offices, including the regional office of the military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, an office of state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and an army recruiting centre, were located.

Tahir Hussain, the top civil administrator in Faisalabad said it was not immediately clear which building was the target of the attack. "There are some important state buildings in this area and any one of these could be the target."

According to Hussain, some unconfirmed reports were putting the death toll at 32.

Television footage showed collapsed buildings and destroyed vehicles. Smoke was still rising from the refuelling station.

About a dozen people are believed to be trapped under the debris, said Subhan Ali, a spokesman for the district government.

"It was a huge blast which was heard five to six kilometres away," Ali said. "The destruction is very big. It was a busy area. Buildings are demolished and we are trying to pull out dead and injured people."

No one accepted responsibility for the bombing but Taliban and Al Qaeda linked groups have repeatedly attacked official and civilian targets across Pakistan.

Faisalabad, known as Pakistan's Manchester due to a large textile industry, has been relatively safe. Tuesday's bombing was perhaps the first major attack in the city.

Obama orders resumption of Guantanamo trials
By Arun Kumar (10:50)

Washington, March 8 (IANS) Reversing his own orders, US President Barack Obama has cleared the way for resumption of trials by military commissions to prosecute alleged terrorists held at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Obama, who had during the 2008 poll campaign pledged to close the controversial detention facility, said his administration remains committed to doing so, but will rescind its previous suspension on bringing new charges before military commissions.

Obama also called for prosecuting Guantanamo detainees in US criminal courts when appropriate, and issued an executive order calling for periodic reviews of suspects held under indefinite detention.

The steps followed through on Obama's previous call to reform the process of prosecuting or holding Guantanamo detainees to make it more in line with international laws and standards, according to senior administration officials cited by CNN.

However, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Centre for Constitutional Rights both criticised the administration for what they called institutionalising indefinite detention of terrorism suspects who have yet to be formally charged or designated for transfer to another country, but are considered too dangerous to set free.

Established in response to the Sep 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US, the Guantanamo Bay facility has been a lightning rod for criticism of the US handling of terrorism suspects.

Obama previously pledged to close the Guantanamo Bay facility within a year of taking office in January 2009, prompting criticism from conservatives.

In addition, his administration has sought to prosecute some high-profile detainees - such as alleged Sep 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - in civilian courts on the US mainland, which drew widespread opposition that crossed traditional party lines.

The Guantanamo facility remains open today due to legal complexities involving the status of some detainees and congressional opposition to holding trials for high-profile suspects in US criminal courts.

Shortly after Obama's announcement Monday, Defence Secretary Robert Gates announced the withdrawal of his prior suspension of new charges before military commissions.

Gates cited reforms of the military commissions under a 2009 law, and he and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen both expressed support for also using civilian courts to prosecute terrorism suspects.