We have recovered 33 dead bodies and have shifted 95 injured to different hospitals,' doctor Rizwan Naseer, director general of the city rescue service, told AFP.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but cultural hub Lahore has frequently been targeted by Taliban militants waging a two-and-a-half year insurgency that has killed more than 2,600 people in Pakistan.
The two fierce explosions struck about 30 metres (yards) apart and set shops and buildings ablaze at the popular Moon Market.
'There were two blasts with an interval of about 30 seconds. One was in front of a bank and one was in front of a police station,' said city police official Shafiq Ahmad.
Pakistan TV stations showed footage of buildings in flames as rescue workers rushed to the chaotic scene and firemen struggled to put out the blaze.
Vehicles and shops were badly damaged in the Moon Market area in the centre of the city of nearly eight million people.
Earlier Monday, 10 people were killed when a suicide bomber struck outside a court in the northwestern city Peshawar, which has borne the brunt of Taliban attacks avenging military offensives against them across the region.
Lahore has also been in the crosshairs of the insurgents, with five militant strikes this year killing more than 70 people in a city known for its universities, buzzing theatre scene and art galleries.
It is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, with many of the nation's senior military figures hailing from the area.
No comments:
Post a Comment