Deadly bomb blast targets Pakistani busy market

At least three people have been killed and over 26 have been injured after an explosion hit a busy shopping district in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, police say.

The explosion took place in the Lohari Gate area, a densely packed neighbourhood consisting of small shops packed into narrow criss-crossing streets, on Thursday afternoon, police spokesperson Nayab Haider said.

“The deaths of three people are confirmed,” he said, adding that four of the wounded were in critical condition.

Hospital officials at Lahore’s Mayo hospital, where the wounded were being treated, confirmed the death toll and said at least 26 people had been wounded in the blast.

DIG Operations Lahore Dr Muhammad Abid Khan while speaking to media said the blast has created a 1.5 feet-deep crater in the ground.

Khan said investigations were ongoing to determine the nature of the blast and the kind of explosive used.

Most of the wounded had been hit by shrapnel in their lower limbs, police official Khan said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred in the commercial centre of Pakistan’s second-largest city.