Suicide blast in Lahore kills seven

---

LAHORE, Aug 14 (AFP): A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police station in Lahore Wednesday during preparations for Pakistan's Independence Day, killing at least seven people, police said.

The blast ripped through a crowd of policemen standing guard at the station on the outskirts of the eastern city, leaving bloodied victims lying on the ground amid piles of broken glass and debris, witnesses said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but security officials said they believed the blast was likely in revenge for a Pakistani offensive against Taliban militants in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

"The police party was deployed in front of the police station and a suicide bomber approached them on foot and exploded himself, resulting in seven deaths so far," senior police investigator Mushtaq Sukhera told AFP.

Five of the dead were policemen, including the officer in charge of the group hit by the blast, and two were civilians, Sukhera said. Another 20 people were wounded, eight of them police, he added.

Another police official, Pervez Rathore said the blast deliberately targeted preparations for Pakistan's 61st Independence Day Thursday. "It was an act to sabotage the independence day celebrations," Rathore told AFP.