At least 26 persons, including nine Policemen, were killed and 56 others injured in a suicide blast near the Arfa Karim IT Tower on the Ferozepur Road of Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, reports The News.
The suicide attack was carried out during the demolition of the old fruit and vegetable market. The suicide bomber was aged between 16 to 18 years, apparently riding a bike, reached the spot where the Police were standing guard to avert any retaliation from the owners of the buildings being demolished for a park.
The bomber – carrying a suicide jacket weighing at least 12 kilogrammes of explosives, including ball bearings – triggered the button at 3:55pm. The impact of the blast was so huge that it shook the Arfa Karim Tower like an earthquake as ball bearings shattered a number of windowpanes.
Three bikes and a car were damaged in the blast. The incident occurred just a few meters away from 180-H Model Town – the Chief Minister’s camp office, exposing the so-called combing search operations and maintenance of law and order in the provincial metropolis.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
