'Train services resume after Bhutto violence'

National rail services from the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi resumed Tuesday, five days after rioters torched trains and uprooted tracks following the killing of Benazir Bhutto, officials said.

National rail services from the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi resumed Tuesday, five days after rioters torched trains and uprooted tracks following the killing of Benazir Bhutto, officials said.

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The violence in the wake of Bhutto's death has caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, the interior ministry has said, with hundreds of shops, offices and banks burnt out, along with rail stations and more than 70 trains.

"The Karakorum express has left for Lahore under tight security provided by the military, rangers (paramilitary) and police," senior railway official Mir Mohammed Khaskheli told AFP.

Another train was to leave for the northwestern city of Peshawar at 10:00 pm (1700 GMT), general railway manager Asad Saeed said.

The rail service was due to be restored on Monday but communication system problems and signal snags caused another day of delays, he added.

Railway minister Tariq Mansoor told AFP on Sunday that the network suffered losses of at least 12 billion rupees (19 million dollars) when 20 train engines and 140 coaches were destroyed in the unrest.