Pakistani official: Explosion kills 8 in city of Lahore
LAHORE, Pakistan — Explosives in a building under construction ignited Thursday, ripping through a market in an upscale neighbourhood in the eastern city of Lahore, killing eight people, officials said. It was not immediately clear whether the explosives were meant to be a bomb or merely stored in the building.
The news came as a shock to many in this Islamic nation, where a string of brazen attacks claimed by Pakistani Taliban over the past two weeks have killed more than 125 people. Islamabad claims that Pakistani Taliban use Afghan soil to stage terrorist attacks across Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies.
Thursday’s blast was so powerful that it shattered windows of nearby buildings and damaged vehicles parked outside a market in the Defence Housing Authority, said Rana Sanaullah, provincial law minister.
Nearly 30 people were wounded in the blast that the provincial Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said was caused when explosives inside the building ignited.