Pakistan blames Taliban for deadly Lahore attack
Taliban militants blamed for carrying out coordinated suicide attack in Lahore, Pakistan, that killed at least 30
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Wednesday, 27, May 2009 05:47
Taliban militants have been blamed for carrying out a coordinated suicide attack in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore that has killed up to 30 people.
A police building has been razed after a truck laden with explosives detonated when it crashed through a perimeter gate earlier today.
Shortly before the blast, grenades were thrown towards the building and gunfire was heard.
More than 200 people were inside the police emergency response building at the time of the attack, with the death-toll expected to rise as more bodies are recovered.
Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik has blamed Taliban fighters currently on the retreat from government forces in Sway Valley for carrying out the attack.
"Enemies of Pakistan who want to destabilise the country are coming here after their defeat in Swat," he said.
"There is a war and this is a war for our survival."
The country's president Asif Ali Zardari has expressed condolences over the "loss of innocent lives" in Lahore, where in March gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying members of the Sri Lankan national cricket team; killing six police officers and a driver, while eight cricketers were wounded.
Up to 200 people were wounded in today's attack, which took place in one of Lahore's busiest areas near the city's police headquarters and high court.