TERRORIST ATTACK IN PAKISTAN

Updated at: 1841 PST,  Friday, May 28, 2010  LAHORE: Gunmen attacked worshippers from a minority sect in two worship places of Lahore on Friday, taking hostages and killing over 80 people, officials said. The gunmen opened fire shortly after prayers and threw what could have been grenades at two Ahmadi worship places in residential neighbourhoods. More than 80 people had been killed in the twin attacks in Garhi Shahu and Model Town while about 95 others were injured. The death toll at Garhi Shahu was higher, Bhutta said, because three attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives when police tried to enter the building. Police are still searching the area as two attackers were still at large. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the incidents would generate greater resolve to combat extremism. "It's a reminder to the nation that Pakistan will achieve its destiny only after we get rid of the worst type of extremism and fundamentalism," he told a news conference. "The entire nation will fight this evil." He said one attacker had been arrested. Police in Model Town confirmed one gunmen had been arrested and another killed. Punjab's Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the arrested attacker was a teenage Pashtun. This, he said, indicated a link to the tribal area of Waziristan and strongly hinted at a Taliban link. "The prayer leader was giving a sermon when we heard firing and blasts. Everybody stood up and then two gunmen barged into the mosque and sprayed bullets," Fateh Sharif, a 19-year-old student, told from Model Town. "They had long beards. They were carrying rucksacks." Bhutta said a suicide vest laden with explosives was recovered from the Model Town, where some attackers escaped. One fired at a television van before the area was made safe. Witnesses said the assaults were launched shortly after prayers. "I saw some gunmen run towards the Ahmadis' place of worship and then I heard blasts and gunfire," said Mohammad Nawaz, a resident. Stock market investors shrugged off the latest violence. "Initially we saw some selling after the attack but investors started accumulating shares at lower levels," said Asad Iqbal, chief executive at Faysal Asset Management Ltd adding that there was foreign buying which boosted local confidence. The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index was up 0.75 percent at 9,511.75 points at 4:05 pm.

PESHAWAR: At least 25 people were killed and dozens other injured on Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the crowded Qissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar.

Deputy Superintendent Police Gulfat Hussain and District Naib Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Dost Muhammad were also among the dead.

According to eyewitnesses, the bomber targeted a rally organized by the JI in protest against the power outages.

Edhi sources confirmed that 25 people were killed in the powerful blast.

The blast took place in front of a Sweets shop near Kabli Police Station located in Qissa Khwani bazaar of Peshawar.

The injured were shifted to Lady Redding Hospital, where emergency was declared.

Meanwhile, the police reached the scene and cordoned off the area.

It was the second blast that took place in Peshawar today. A schoolboy was killed in the first blast.

 PESHAWAR: Two security men were martyred and four attackers killed when heavily armed militants in two vehicles tried to storm the US consulate in Peshawar on Monday.

A series of powerful explosions and gunfire rocked Peshawar area of Saddar as heavy grey smoke spewed into the sky, witnesses and a security official said.

Khyber Road where the US Consulate building is situated, is being air-monitored by the helicopters.

Television footage showed a heavy mushroom cloud and smoke rising into the air over the garrison part of the city, close to the US consulate and the Peshawar headquarters of Pakistan's top spy agency, bombed last November.

Bursts of heavy gunfire could also be heard in the wake of blasts which a foreign news agency puts at five in number.

The Khyber Road, where the US Consulate is situated, has been closed.

The cameras of news channels were live covering the incident with security personnel on their positions, when two consecutive blasts occurred.

The series of these three blasts occurred within 20 minutes and shook the city followed by extreme firing. The second and third blasts occurred in vehicles.

The blasts were so intense that the mobile phones services were closed for some time.

Emergency has been declared in Peshawar Hospital.

The US Consulate official said the Consulate is garnering information about the blasts.

  TIMER GIRAH: At least 20 were killed and several others injured in a blast at a public rally of Awami National Party (ANP) in Timer Girah Tehsil of Lower Dir, Geo News reported Monday.

Relief teams including ambulances and Bomb Disposal Squad were dispatched towards blast site. The injured are being shifted to the nearby hospitals. The local people started relief work on self-help basis.

It should be mentioned the blast occurred at a public gathering of Awami National Party (ANP) being held in connection with Yaum-e-Tashakkur after the name of the province changed to Khyber Pakhtoonkhaw. The Party kept its program secret.

The security personnel before long arrived on the spot and cordoned off the affected area.

No report about the nature of the blast has yet been received.

The blast occurred near a police check post and a passport office in the main bazaar.

Emergency has been declared in all hospitals in the area. The hospital sources confirmed the killings of at least six people and the number may rise still further and injuries to several others.