Emergency.Blog

Terror Attack Reported at Lahore High Court; At Least 24 Dead

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Homicide Bomb Rocks Pakistani High Court, Killing Dozens, Injuring Scores

LAHORE, PAKISTAN: A suspected Islamic militant blew himself up among police guarding a court on Thursday, killing 24 people and wounding scores more, in the first major attack in Pakistan since the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

The blast at Lahore High Court, minutes before a planned anti-government rally by lawyers, was a bloody reminder of the security threats facing the country ahead Feb. 18 elections.

Over the past three months there have been at least 20 homicide bombings that have killed 400 people, many of them security forces -- the most intense period of terror attacks since Pakistan allied with the United States in its war against Al Qaeda in 2001.

Police said the attacker walked into a group of around 70 officers in riot gear outside the courtroom and detonated explosives on his body, sending a shower of shrapnel that left mangled bodies sprawled in pools of blood on the street. All but three of the dead were police officers (at least 21)...

-- Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,321569,00.html

Click here to view photos (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT - NOT for children):
http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,3073,00.html

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ERRI counter-terrorism analysts note: Amid the continuing political strife that has engulfed Pakistan following the assassination of former P.M. Bhutto, and the lead-up to coming elections, the number of terrorist bombings in Pakistan has increased dramatically. In the incident reported above, Pakistani police took the brunt of this latest and extremely brutal attack.

Various factions, including both political and religious organizations, are undertaking these attacks...in hopes of destabilizing or overthrowing the current Pakistani government. Particularly Islamic extremists, like Usama Bin Laden, have vowed to defeat or kill Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and install a "radical-friendly" administration in Pakistan. Musharraf has been a U.S. ally in the Global War on Terror (GWOT).

ERRI analysts and EmergencyNet News correspondents continue to closely monitor events in Pakistan and we will bring you additional details as circumstances warrant. Watch Emergency.Blog for more on this still developing story.