43 killed in explosions shake Lahore18: 45 12/03/2010, Saeed Shah, al-Qaeda, global terrorism, guardian.co.uk, news, Pakistan, Taliban, world news, Gu

43 killed in explosions shake Lahore18: 45 12/03/2010, Saeed Shah, al-Qaeda, global terrorism, guardian.co.uk, news, Pakistan, Taliban, world news, Guardian Unlimited

Dozens killed in two suicide bombers trying to blow up a military convoy passing crowded market

An attack in the eastern city of Lahore has killed at least 43 people - the fifth terrorist attack militants in Pakistan this week to demonstrate their continued ability to strike.

The bloodiest terrorist attack in Pakistan this year was carried out by two suicide bombers with vests that went into a crowded market in a neighborhood of high military security and blew themselves up. The goal seemed to be the passage of military vehicles, but most victims were civilians.

Shops in the market were shattered, with children crossing the road and people waiting at a bus stop among the victims. About 10 soldiers were killed and 100 wounded, said police chief of Lahore, Parvaiz Rathore.

"There were about 10 to 15 seconds between the explosions. Both were suicide attacks," said a senior local government official, Sajjad Bhutta, told the site.

"The maximum dimensions of prevention are being taken, but these people find support from somewhere."

The attackers blew themselves up at 1pm, at the time of Friday prayers in the cantonment area, home to the local military garrison and one of the most luxurious residential areas of Lahore.

Lahore is Pakistan's vibrant cultural center and enjoyed several weeks of relative peace. It is the capital of eastern Punjab province, the most densely populated of Pakistan and its political center.

Suicide bombings were followed in the afternoon for three small explosions in a residential area in the city. That caused a panic, but damage was reported to be minor.

The authorities reiterated their assertion that regulate the Taliban and other extremist groups have been defeated. Provincial Justice Minister, Rana Sanaullah, said: "We have broken their networks. That's why we have been unable to strike for a considerable time."

But it was the second attack this week in Lahore. A car bomb on Monday in an interrogation center at police killed 14 people. Other attacks this week include a gun and grenade assault on the office of a Christian aid agency in the U.S. in the northwest, killing six of its officers, all Pakistani nationals.

"They (the militants) are trying to project power, tell the government who are still alive," said analyst Imtiaz Gul, author of The connection to Al Qaeda. "They are still far from broken.'s Going to be a long haul."

Lahore in 2009 which was drawn into the insurgency in Pakistan, which claimed some 3,000 lives last year, with a series of spectacular attacks including an assault pistol in the visiting team of Sri Lankan cricket. The last major attack in Lahore, was in December when a market was bombed, killing at least 49 people.

The launch of a military offensive in South Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan, the base of the Pakistani Taliban in October last year was accompanied by a vicious series of terrorist reprisals, but the country has been relatively peaceful this year.

Pakistan
Global terrorism
Taliban
Al-Qaeda
Saeed Shah


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