Twenty six people including seven members of anti-riot police and a woman were killed and another 40 injured when a bomb exploded near abandoned Fruit and Vegetable market on Monday afternoon.
According to Police, the bombing took place when an anti-encroachment team of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) was razing a building in the market.
Monday’s attack was the first act of terrorism in the eastern city of Pakistan after April 13 suicide blast in the central Lahore Charing Cross Square that had left 14 killed including a Deputy Inspector General of Police.
This time the terrorists struck just a kilometer away from the Model Town residence of Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and just a few meters from Arfa IT Tower, the symbol of Pakistan’s technological advancements.
Lahore Police called the bombing a suicide blast that rocked the area at the entrance of the market on Ferozepur Road.
Lahore, the seat of power for the ruling PML(N) party and the cultural hub of the country, has been hit by significant militant attacks in country’s more than decade-long war on terror.
However, a number of counterterrorism operations had vastly improved the security environment with a significant reduction in the frequency of attacks.
