Two suicide bombers die by prematurely detonating their bomb in Pakistan

Two suspected suicide bombers died Sunday when they prematurely detonated their bomb near the residence of a senior leader of the ruling party in eastern Pakistan, police said.

The men were on a motorcycle and were not far away from the residence of Ijazul Haq, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, in the city of Bahawalnagar when their bomb exploded, said Zafar Abbas Bukhari, the district police chief.

The blast was the first suicide attack in Pakistan since the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Thursday. Her killing triggered nationwide riots and raised doubts on whether parliamentary elections on Jan. 8 can go ahead as planned.

Haq was not at home when the attackers struck.

Haq was minister for religious affairs in July when the government launched a military operation against a militant-linked mosque in Islamabad, killing over 100 people. He is reportedly on a militant hit list.

Bahawalnagar is a deeply conservative city in the eastern Punjab province. (AP)