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Rescue workers fight to put out fires at the Moon Market in Lahore after two suicide bombers killed more than 30 Pakistanis. APP Photo. |
Fourty-five civilians were killed in the second suicide attack in Pakistan’s major cities today.
Two suicide bombers detonated their vests near-simultaneously about 100 feet apart in the middle of the Moon Market, a commercial hub in the eastern city of Lahore.
“There were two blasts with an interval of about 30 seconds,” a Lahore police official told AFP. “One was in front of a bank and one was in front of a police station.”
More than 100 people have been reported to have been wounded in the dual explosions, which set buildings and cars aflame. The death toll is expected to rise as more casualties are discovered.
Today’s double suicide bombing in Lahore was the second Taliban attack today. A few hours earlier, a suicide bomber killed 11 Pakistanis outside a Peshawar courthouse.
The Taliban have stepped up their suicide campaign in Pakistan’s major cities, attacking the capital of Islamabad, the military garrison city of Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Peshawar. The Taliban’s latest offensive began on Oct. 5 when Hakeemullah Mehsud, the leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, launched the offensive to pressure the military to end operations in the tribal areas.
Taliban suicide assault teams have also targeted military installations in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Peshawar. The Army General Headquarters was shut down for a day during an assault, while police and intelligence services centers in Lahore and Peshawar have also been targeted.
The Taliban and allied terrorist groups last hit Lahore on Oct. 15, when terrorist assault teams attacked the Federal Investigation Agency building, the Manawan police training center, and the Elite Force Headquarters. In the daylong battles, 26 people were killed, including nine terrorists and 12 policemen.
7 Comments
How much more can they take?
25% of Pak Army are Pashtuns. 100% of Talibans are Pashtuns. Pak army is not fighting Talibans, rather attacking common folks.
Its a dicy situation and Pak will never win this war against Jihadis and terrorists who have big support base in almost every section of Pak society.
Neither Pashtuns will accept large scale death/destruction of their areas.
Are these attacks being planned by the Quetta Shura?
The law minister of Punjab has already blamed India for this attack. The madness continues….
It cant be Quetta Shura by the simple logic of it. Most probably people associated with Mureedkay or other groups associated with Alqaeeda based in south Punjab like LeT etc. I think it is about time that people in Pakistan shall pont fingers at the right place i.e Pakistan Army & ISI. Otherwise face upto more sucide bombings. The army establishment will simply sell our dead bodies to West by saying that look we are doing anough & thousands of our people are killed.
What this forum knows/suspects on who the perpetrators are, I don’t think majority of Pakistan civilians would hear or see it. They probably hear, from non-english media, theories about US/India/Israel and how Islam is in danger. “How much more can they take?” is more to do with “when/what will the Hydra decides tell?”. Few days ago, Kayani met with top generals to reaffirm their faith in Islam and that Pakistan has to be Islamic first and the rest follows. This is exactly what Taliban believes too. So what this fight is about gets real muddy real fast…
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 12/08/2009 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.