Headlines
Eight killed in Lahore suicide bombing
Lahore, Feb 17
At least eight people were
killed and several others, including a child, injured in a suicide
bombing in Pakistan's Lahore city Tuesday, with the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) claiming responsibility for the terrorist attack.
Officials
said the attack targeted the Police Lines but the security measures
forced the bomber to detonate his explosives prematurely, Dawn reported.
Initial
investigations revealed that ball bearings were used in the bomb attack
in which a police official was also killed and a policewoman was among
the injured, police sources said.
A spokesperson for the TTP's
(also called Pakistan Taliban) Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction, said the attack
was carried out by the splinter group.
The blast occurred near
the main gate of Police Lines in the city's Gujjar Singh area. Several
vehicles parked near the blast site caught fire and the window panes of
nearby buildings were also shattered.
Pakistan President Mamnoon
Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI)
chairman Imran Khan strongly condemned the attack.
Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif also condemned the bombing and sought a report on the incident.
Witnesses said gunshots were heard from inside the Police Lines, which is close to the headquarter of Pakistan Railways.
Security personnel, however, said the shots were fired by members of the law enforcement agencies following the blast.