Pakistan: Deadly bomb blast rips through Lahore rally

Print

Pakistan blastA powerful bomb blast on Monday ripped through a protest in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens, according to officials.

The explosion went off in Lahore's busy Mall Road during a rally attended by hundreds of pharmacists protesting against a new government law outside the provincial assembly building.

Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban-linked armed group, claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded at least 30 people, including media personnel covering the protest.

Eye witnesses told Al Jazeera that the blast occured near the Punjab assembly building when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed into a police vehicle. Two senior police officials were reportedly killed in the explosion.

More...