Graphic Pics: Over 25 Dead 70 Wounded In Pakistan Suicide Blast - With Video
LAHORE, Pakistan— A suicide bomber blew himself up among police deployed outside a court in eastern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 70, officials and witnesses said.
The blast in front of Lahore High Court was the latest in a wave of attacks targeting politicians and security forces ahead of Feb. 18 parliamentary elections. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion will likely fall on militants linked to Taliban and al-Qaida.
It came as Scotland Yard investigators visited forensic laboratories elsewhere in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, to examine evidence in the assassination two weeks ago of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, a city to the north.
“There were about 60 to 70 policemen on duty when a man rammed into our ranks and soon there was a huge explosion,” said police officer Syed Imtiaz Hussain, who suffered wounds to his legs and groin. “I saw the bodies of other policemen burning. It was like hell.”
The explosion left wounded lying in pools of blood, crying for help. TV news video showed at least four mangled bodies on the ground near a destroyed motorbike and a piece of smoking debris. Ambulance workers loaded victims onto stretchers as sirens wailed.
The blast sent shrapnel flying as far as 100 yards away. It also shattered windows in the courthouse and set off volleys of tear gas shells carried by the police, preventing rescuers from getting close to the victims in the seconds after the attack, witnesses said.
Chief of police operations Aftab Cheema said the bomber had run up to a barrier manned by police and blew himself up. He said 21 policemen and three civilians were killed. More than 70 others were wounded, including civilian passers-by, officials said.
An Associated Press photographer saw the severed head of a man with long hair and beard. Bomb disposal experts estimated that up to 30 pounds of explosives were used.
Musharraf condemned the attack and reiterated his resolve “to continue the fight against terrorism and extremism and not to be deterred by such acts,” the state Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported.
The government of Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, has blamed two Taliban commanders linked to al-Qaida for a wave of about 20 suicide attacks that have killed about 400 people in the past three months, many targeting security forces.
(AP)
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Another fine day for the religion of peace…
January 10th, 2008 at 2:52 pm