Lahore: Two powerful blasts ripped through
a crowded commercial hub in this eastern Pakistani city today,
killing at least six persons and injuring nearly 70 others
hours after a suicide bomber killed 10 people in northwestern
Peshawar city.
The blasts occurred at Moon Market in Allama Iqbal
Town area of Lahore shortly after 8.45 pm.
One explosion occurred within the market while the
other occurred on its outer perimeter. The blasts went off
within a minute of each other, witnesses said.
Officials at Sheikh Zayed Hospital said they had
received three bodies, including that of a woman, and over 40
injured people.
Six women were among the wounded and two of them were
in a serious condition.
Three bodies and 28 injured people were taken to
Jinnah Hospital. Six children and 12 women were among the
injured, officials said.
The explosions sparked a massive fire that engulfed
several shops and a bank.
Rescue workers rushed to the area, which was cordoned
off by security forces.
An emergency was declared at the hospitals, which
were thronged by people looking for their loved ones.
A large number of people, including women and
children, were present at the time of the blasts in Moon
Market, which is popular for its eateries. The explosions
caused widespread panic across Lahore.
Earlier today, ten people were killed and nearly 50
injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a court
complex in Peshawar.
The blasts were the latest in a wave of terrorist
attacks that hit Pakistan after the army launched operations
against the Taliban in South Waziristan tribal region.
During operations in the restive Swat valley and
Waziristan tribal region, Pakistani troops killed four
militants and apprehended 17 others with links to the
terrorists, authorities said today.
Security forces gunned down four militants during a
search operation at Goraghat in Swat, which has witnessed a
spurt in violence in the past two weeks.
The army had said it had cleared most parts of the
northwestern valley, located 160 km from Islamabad, of the
Taliban nearly two months ago.
-PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 08, 2009, 00:36