Bush offers Pakistan condolences over deadly blast

ISLAMABAD, Nov 13 (Reuters) US President George W Bush telephoned key ally President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan today to offer his condolences over the death of 42 Pakistani soldiers in a suicide bomb blast last week.

The attack on army recruits in the northwestern town of Dargai on Wednesday was the deadliest on Pakistani forces since the country joined the US-led war on terrorism after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The attack was apparently in retaliation for an October 30 air strike on an Islamist school in the nearby Bajaur region, on the Afghan border, in which some 80 suspected militants were killed.

''The two presidents mentioned that the attack demonstrated the need to redouble efforts against terrorists and extremists,'' White House spokesman Tony Snow said in Washington.

Bush also reiterated the commitment of the United States to maintain ''a long-term, broad-based strategic relationship'' with Pakistan, official Pakistani media said.

Many people in predominantly Muslim Pakistan oppose the government's support for the US-led war on terrorism.

The killing of the 42 soldiers had raised fresh questions among opposition politicians, commentators and the public about the government's stand.

Musharraf visited the scene of the attack today and vowed to continue the fight against Islamist militancy.

''The president said the Pakistan army was fully capable to take up this challenge and its morale was high,'' the state-run APP news agency reported.

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