India condemns blasts in Lahore as death toll rises to 57
Sunday, 14 March 2010
NEW DELHI, Mar 13 (AFP): India Saturday condemned the bomb blasts in the Pakistani city of Lahore which claimed at least 57 lives as 'acts of terrorism'.
"The government unequivocally condemns the series of bomb blasts in Lahore which claimed the lives of scores of people, including innocent civilians, and injured many more, among them women and children," the foreign ministry said.
"Our condolences go out to the families of those killed by these acts of terrorism," the ministry said in a statement a day after the blasts.
The suicide attackers walked up to army vehicles in Lahore's R A Bazaar area and blew themselves up as people sat down to eat before the main Muslim weekly prayers were to begin on Friday.
Hours later, five small bombs exploded elsewhere in Lahore but caused no casualties.
India has blamed Pakistan-based militants for the November 2008 carnage in Mumbai which left 166 people dead and more than 300 others wounded.
Meanwhile, CNN from Islamabad adds: At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured in a suicide attack in northwest Pakistan Saturday, authorities said.
The attack at a security checkpoint in Saidu Sharif town injured 37, according to Ibrahim Khan, a police official in the Swat District, where the military launched an offensive against the Taliban last year. The town is near Mingora, the largest city in the district.
Khan said the suicide attacker, who was dropped off on a rickshaw, approached a checkpoint manned by police and military personnel.
Security personnel opened fire when the attacker refused to stop. Moments later, the attacker detonated his explosives
The Saturday blast comes a day after a twin suicide attack on a military convoy in Lahore killed at least 39 people and injured nearly 100 others. Assailants targeted military convoys, approaching on foot and detonating their explosives 15 to 20 seconds apart, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah said. Five of the dead were Pakistani soldiers, he said.
Lahore is Pakistan's second most populous city.
Later Friday night, four low-level blasts occurred in succession in the Iqbal Town area of the city, not far from Moon Market. There were no casualties in the blasts and damage was minimal, Lahore Police said.
"The government unequivocally condemns the series of bomb blasts in Lahore which claimed the lives of scores of people, including innocent civilians, and injured many more, among them women and children," the foreign ministry said.
"Our condolences go out to the families of those killed by these acts of terrorism," the ministry said in a statement a day after the blasts.
The suicide attackers walked up to army vehicles in Lahore's R A Bazaar area and blew themselves up as people sat down to eat before the main Muslim weekly prayers were to begin on Friday.
Hours later, five small bombs exploded elsewhere in Lahore but caused no casualties.
India has blamed Pakistan-based militants for the November 2008 carnage in Mumbai which left 166 people dead and more than 300 others wounded.
Meanwhile, CNN from Islamabad adds: At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured in a suicide attack in northwest Pakistan Saturday, authorities said.
The attack at a security checkpoint in Saidu Sharif town injured 37, according to Ibrahim Khan, a police official in the Swat District, where the military launched an offensive against the Taliban last year. The town is near Mingora, the largest city in the district.
Khan said the suicide attacker, who was dropped off on a rickshaw, approached a checkpoint manned by police and military personnel.
Security personnel opened fire when the attacker refused to stop. Moments later, the attacker detonated his explosives
The Saturday blast comes a day after a twin suicide attack on a military convoy in Lahore killed at least 39 people and injured nearly 100 others. Assailants targeted military convoys, approaching on foot and detonating their explosives 15 to 20 seconds apart, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah said. Five of the dead were Pakistani soldiers, he said.
Lahore is Pakistan's second most populous city.
Later Friday night, four low-level blasts occurred in succession in the Iqbal Town area of the city, not far from Moon Market. There were no casualties in the blasts and damage was minimal, Lahore Police said.