At least 13 people were killed and more than 60 injured in a suicide attack, when a car loaded with explosives detonated outside a police building in Eastern Pakistan on Monday, officials said.
The explosion brought down the building of the anti-terrorist wing of the Pakistan‘s Federal Investigative Agency, used for the interrogation of suspected terrorists. The counterterrorism unit had already been attacked in October last year killing 38 people.
“This place was used to interrogate important suspects, presently there was no such suspect, but more than 40 staff were manning the place,” Lahore’s police chief told reporters.
Among Monday’s victims was a mother taking her daughter to school.
One resident living in the area told AP that they filed a complaint urging the authorities to move the interrogation facility to another place, so that the street would not be a target of terrorist attacks.
The Pakistani branch of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan with more than 6 million people, was a frequent target of suicide bombers last year, affecting police buildings and open markets.
The explosion also damaged the nearby madrassa religious school.
The government in Pakistan intensified its crackdown against the Taliban insurgents located in the regions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with the help of unmanned U.S. drone missiles.
Just a month ago, U.S. and Pakistani forces captured in Pakistan the top Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Pakistani intelligence also informed that three suspected militants were killed by a U.S. drone in a tribal region near the Afghanistan border.
The explosion brought down the building of the anti-terrorist wing of the Pakistan‘s Federal Investigative Agency, used for the interrogation of suspected terrorists. The counterterrorism unit had already been attacked in October last year killing 38 people.
“This place was used to interrogate important suspects, presently there was no such suspect, but more than 40 staff were manning the place,” Lahore’s police chief told reporters.
Among Monday’s victims was a mother taking her daughter to school.
One resident living in the area told AP that they filed a complaint urging the authorities to move the interrogation facility to another place, so that the street would not be a target of terrorist attacks.
The Pakistani branch of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan with more than 6 million people, was a frequent target of suicide bombers last year, affecting police buildings and open markets.
The explosion also damaged the nearby madrassa religious school.
The government in Pakistan intensified its crackdown against the Taliban insurgents located in the regions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with the help of unmanned U.S. drone missiles.
Just a month ago, U.S. and Pakistani forces captured in Pakistan the top Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Pakistani intelligence also informed that three suspected militants were killed by a U.S. drone in a tribal region near the Afghanistan border.
