Security
Pakistan: Death toll mounts after suicide blasts hit Lahore
Lahore, 11 March(AKI) - More than 24 people have been killed and dozens others injured after at least two bombs exploded in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday.
The blasts, believed to have been carried out by suicide bombers, were the latest in a wave of violence across Pakistan that has left more than 600 people dead this year.
According to Pakistan's Geo TV, the first attack demolished part of the federal investigation agency (FIA) office in the city, exposing the interior of the building.
A police official said that the blast was a suspected suicide attack.
"We believe the suicide attacker came in a vehicle and hit the reception counter. We have recovered only a few pieces of the car which was used in the attack," investigations superintendent Babur Bakht Qureshi said.
Bodies lay on the ground outside the eight-storey building and police cordoned off the area while emergency workers tried to rescue the injured.
The building was evacuated because of fears it could collapse, television channels reported.
Soon after the attack, a second blast hit an advertising agency in an upscale neighbourhood of the city killing another four people, Qureshi said.
President Pervez Musharraf said: "Acts of terrorism cannot deter (the) government's resolve to fight the scourge with full force."
The latest explosions came a week after two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a prestigious naval college in Lahore, killing at least five people and wounding several others.
The city, close to the Indian border, had previously escaped the violence that has struck other Pakistani towns, although it also suffered a major suicide bombing in January that killed 20 people.
Pakistan has been rocked by six major blasts since the February 18 parliamentary election, won by the parties of slain ex-premier Benazir Bhutto and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The parties at the weekend signed an agreement on forming a coalition government.
Pakistan has recently been combating an Islamist insurgency led by Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, and violence has soared since the start of 2007.
Around 600 people have died since the start of this year in suicide attacks, roadside bombings and clashes, mainly along the Afghan border in troubled north-west Pakistan but also in major cities.
Many of the attacks have targeted the armed forces, police and security forces. The army's top medical officer, Lieutenant General Mushtaq Baig, was killed in a suicide attack in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on February 25.
The blasts, believed to have been carried out by suicide bombers, were the latest in a wave of violence across Pakistan that has left more than 600 people dead this year.
According to Pakistan's Geo TV, the first attack demolished part of the federal investigation agency (FIA) office in the city, exposing the interior of the building.
A police official said that the blast was a suspected suicide attack.
"We believe the suicide attacker came in a vehicle and hit the reception counter. We have recovered only a few pieces of the car which was used in the attack," investigations superintendent Babur Bakht Qureshi said.
Bodies lay on the ground outside the eight-storey building and police cordoned off the area while emergency workers tried to rescue the injured.
The building was evacuated because of fears it could collapse, television channels reported.
Soon after the attack, a second blast hit an advertising agency in an upscale neighbourhood of the city killing another four people, Qureshi said.
President Pervez Musharraf said: "Acts of terrorism cannot deter (the) government's resolve to fight the scourge with full force."
The latest explosions came a week after two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a prestigious naval college in Lahore, killing at least five people and wounding several others.
The city, close to the Indian border, had previously escaped the violence that has struck other Pakistani towns, although it also suffered a major suicide bombing in January that killed 20 people.
Pakistan has been rocked by six major blasts since the February 18 parliamentary election, won by the parties of slain ex-premier Benazir Bhutto and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The parties at the weekend signed an agreement on forming a coalition government.
Pakistan has recently been combating an Islamist insurgency led by Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, and violence has soared since the start of 2007.
Around 600 people have died since the start of this year in suicide attacks, roadside bombings and clashes, mainly along the Afghan border in troubled north-west Pakistan but also in major cities.
Many of the attacks have targeted the armed forces, police and security forces. The army's top medical officer, Lieutenant General Mushtaq Baig, was killed in a suicide attack in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on February 25.
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