A teenage suicide bomber blew himself up near a Chehlum procession in Lahore, killing at least 13 people and wounding over 50, while a suspected suicide bomber crashed his motorbike into a police van, killing three persons and injuring four in Karachi, on Tuesday.
In Lahore, the suicide bomber had hit the first layer of security cordon near a checkpost at Urdu Bazar Chowk. The security was in place to guard participants of Urs of Hazrat Ali Hajvery alias Data Ganj Bakhsh and central procession of Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS). However, the processions of Chehlum and Urs remained in progress despite the bomb blast.
According to police sources, a police mobile (SP-5731) was hit when they intercepted a suspect suicide bomber riding a bike during routine patrol at Darakshan Society near Domino English Language Centre in the limits of Saudabad police station in Karachi.
They said the suicide bomber, who wanted to get to the mourners returning from main Chehlum procession, reportedly crashed his speeding motorbike into a police van on interception, which left three persons, including two policemen, dead and four others injured.
The police claimed that they had recovered the head of suicide bomber from the crime scene but the same was identified as that of a police constable Kamran, establishing that it was not a suicidal attack but a planted bomb blast. The district administration of Lahore ordered the closure of all exit and entry points of the city. People were also denied access to the procession till it reached its destination. People shifted the injured and the dead to Mayo Hospital on their own as ambulances reached there late due to security layers and closure of all the entry points leading to the spot.
Emergency was declared in all the hospitals where people were seen donating blood. M S Mayo Hospital Dr Zahid told media men that they had received 10 bodies and as many as 50 injured persons.
DCO Ahad Cheema while talking to media persons at the spot said police had successfully stopped the suicide bomber outside the security zone. He said even after the sad incident security remained in place to keep the Chehlum procession and Urs in progress. Provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah said security arrangements were up to the mark as a result of which the suicide bomber was obstructed outside the security zone.
Bomb disposal squad claimed that suicide bomber had used 3 kg explosive material. According to police, the suicide bomber reached the first security layer at Urdu Bazar Chowk before Maghrib prayers. When he asked to show his bag for examination, he immediately threw it down, which caused a huge blast.
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