Bomb in Pakistan's Lahore causes casualties

LAHORE, Pakistan - By Mubasher Bukhari

A suspected suicide car bomb went off outside a police station in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday, wounding several people and damaging buildings, a witness and officials said.

There was no claim of responsibility, but the blast comes as the army is battling militants in the Swat region of the northwest of the country in its most concerted action to push back a growing Taliban insurgency.

"A car came and broke through a barrier and exploded," senior city official Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta told reporters.

An office of the military's main intelligence agency is also near the site of the blast.

Bhutta and police said they had no information on casualties but a Reuters witness said he saw several wounded. One television station reported that at least three people had been killed.

Gunshots were heard immediately after the blast but it was not clear who was firing, the witness said. A big cloud of white smoke rose after the blast.

The attack came as General David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, was in Islamabad for meetings with government and military leaders.

The United States needs Pakistani action against militants in its northwest to defeat al Qaeda and disrupt support for the Taliban in Afghanistan.

VIOLENCE SURGES

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan since mid-2007, with numerous attacks on the security forces, as well as government and Western targets.

Officials have warned that militants might launch bomb attacks in retaliation for the offensive in Swat where the military says about 15,000 members of the security forces face 4,000-5,000 militants.

Lahore is capital of Punjab province, the country's most populous and prosperous province. The country's second biggest city is also traditionally home to top bureaucrats and the military top brass.

The city has seen several bomb attacks over the past couple of years but had felt much safer than other parts of the country until March when militants launched two brazen attacks.

Attackers firing rifles and throwing grenades stormed a police training academy on the outskirts of the city on March 30, killing eight recruits, wounding scores and holding off the security forces for hours.

That attack, claimed by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, came less than a month after a dozen gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team in the city, killing six police guards and a bus driver.

Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.