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Pakistan blast 'kills 45' at Wagah border with India | Pakistan blast 'kills 45' at Wagah border with India |
(35 minutes later) | |
At least 45 people have been killed and more than 70 injured in a suspected suicide bombing at a Pakistan-India border town near the city of Lahore. | At least 45 people have been killed and more than 70 injured in a suspected suicide bombing at a Pakistan-India border town near the city of Lahore. |
A senior security official in Punjab province said that the dead included three members of the border force. | A senior security official in Punjab province said that the dead included three members of the border force. |
The explosion happened on the Pakistan side near the famous Wagah crossing between the two countries. | The explosion happened on the Pakistan side near the famous Wagah crossing between the two countries. |
Crowds gather every day at the crossing to watch soldiers conduct a flag-lowering ceremony as the border closes. | |
Police told the BBC at least 15 of those injured were seriously wounded. | Police told the BBC at least 15 of those injured were seriously wounded. |
Mushtaq Sukhera, the Punjab police chief, said the blast happened when a suicide attacker approached a restaurant after the Wagah ceremony and detonated his explosives. | Mushtaq Sukhera, the Punjab police chief, said the blast happened when a suicide attacker approached a restaurant after the Wagah ceremony and detonated his explosives. |
He told Reuters news agency the attacker had struck when security had been "a bit relaxed". | He told Reuters news agency the attacker had struck when security had been "a bit relaxed". |
A BBC reporter in Lahore said the suicide attacker blew himself up 500 meters away from the crossing point. | |
Another witness, an intelligence official, described how he was sitting in his office when he heard the blast. | |
"I rushed to the scene and saw scattered bodies, injured men, women and children and smashed cars," the official told Reuters. | |
Pakistani opposition politician Imran Khan described the blast as an "act of terror". | |
"Shocked and saddened by suicide attack nr Wagah border," the former international cricketer tweeted. | |
An Indian security official said the Indian side of the border was not affected by the explosion, Reuters reported. | |
Dozens of people use the Wagah crossing to enter India and Pakistan every day, says the BBC's Shumaila Jaffrey in Lahore. | |
It is also a crucial trade facility, where truck-loads of goods coming from and going to India are loaded and unloaded. | It is also a crucial trade facility, where truck-loads of goods coming from and going to India are loaded and unloaded. |
A large number of people attend the border parade on Sundays, our reporter adds. | A large number of people attend the border parade on Sundays, our reporter adds. |