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Pakistan 'suicide bombers' kill many in Lahore

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12 March 2010,14:06

Two suicide bombers have killed at least 39 people in the Pakistani city of Lahore, police say.

(Kazan, March 12, Tatar-inform). Two suicide bombers have killed at least 39 people in the Pakistani city of Lahore, police say, reports the BBC.

One of the attack occurred in a market and the other in a busy residential area. The authorities say the bombers targeted military vehicles.

Six of the dead were army personnel. About 95 people were wounded.

There have been several attacks on Lahore in the past year. On Monday the Taliban destroyed a building used by intelligence services, killing 13.

Punjab Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told reporters on Friday:

"Two blasts took place within 15 to 20 seconds of each other. People on the scene told me both were caused by suicide bombers who rammed their motorcycles into two vehicles of the army's Garrison Security Force."

The first explosion took place near the RA Bazaar, in an area where several army and security agencies have facilities.

The second happened near the Saddar roundabout.

Pakistani TV showed security forces being deployed and ambulances rushing to the scene.
No group has said it carried out the attacks.

After Monday's attack the Pakistani Taliban promised to unleash up to 3,000 suicide bombers across the country unless Pakistan's army stopped its operations against the militant group and US drone strikes ended.

Pakistan has been fighting insurgents in the volatile tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

The military recently stepped up operations against the Taliban leadership, arresting the military commander of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was hiding in the southern city of Karachi.

A number of other top figures in the Afghan Taliban are also reported to have been arrested across Pakistan over the last few weeks.

In the last six months hundreds of civilians have been killed in militant attacks across the country. The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says there are no signs the violence is coming to an end.

Last October simultaneous assaults on three security buildings across Lahore killed 38 people. In December, two bomb blasts at a market in the city killed 48 and injured more than 100.
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