WEB DESK
At least 46 people were injured last night in a bomb blast in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province of Pakistan. Police said an explosive device planted inside a truck went off tonight at Bund road area, which is part of the route former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had finalised for his return to Lahore from Islamabad on Wednesday. Police and rescue officials have cordoned off the area.
An eyewitness said the explosion shattered the windows of nearby buildings. A number of bikes and cars were damaged due to its intensity. Lahore, the cultural capital of Pakistan, has witnessed several terror attacks in recent months.
On July 24, a Taliban suicide bomber struck a police team near residence-cum-office of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif here, killing 27 people, including policemen.
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Pakistan Tuesday claimed to have foiled a terror bid targeting police personnel in Lahore’s Saggian Bridge area hours after a blast at nearby Outfall Road wounded at least 46 people.
Four suspected Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan terrorists were “found dead” after a gunfight with CTD personnel, whereas three to four others fled the scene of the “encounter”.
The CTD team in Sheikhupura received information from a credible source saying that six or seven TTP terrorists were coming to Lahore from Sheikhupura to “launch [an] attack on police personnel deployed on duty” around 12:30am today, read a CTD press release.