While rest of us are enjoying Pak v/s IRE match, horrible news coming from lahore where twin blasts during christian prayers in a church resulted in 5+ casualities and scores injured.
Its terrible and we all are united to condemn that.
5 dead in attack on Lahore churches - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
3 dead in attack on Lahore churches
IMRAN GABOL | NADEEM HAIDER | WASEEM RIAZ | ABBAS HAIDER | AKBAR ALI — UPDATED 5 minutes ago
[TABLE=“class: media media–stretch one-whole palm–one-whole, width: 698”]
[TABLE=“class: media media–stretch one-whole palm–one-whole, width: 698”]
Crowds gather at a nearby hospital - DawnNews screengrab
LAHORE: Twin blasts rocked the Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church in Lahore’s Youhanabad area. Both churches have high attendance on Sundays on account of mass.
Initial reports suggest two suicide bombers carried out the attack.
Youhanabad is the country’s biggest Christian locality, housing at least one million people. The Christian community in Pakistan has long been the target of attacks and hate crimes carried out by extremist elements within the country.
In 2013, twin suicide attacks were carried out at the All Saint’s Church in Peshawar’s Kohati Gate area, killing 80 and wounding over 100 others.
Major developments
-
Suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gate of two churches
-
At least three people have died in the attack
-
TTP splinter group Jamatul Ahrar claims responsibility for the attack
-
One young man was lynched by the enraged mob
[HR][/HR]12:22pm: TTP-JA claim responsibility
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Jamatul Ahrar group spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan says the militant outfit takes responsibility for the attack.
12:13pm - Cop among victims
Policeman among those killed in the blasts. The number of wounded rises to 40 and includes women and children.
The body of the man who was lynched by the enraged mob, after being snatched from policemen, has been set on fire.
12:09pm - Two arrested
Two suspects have been arrested from near the blast sites.
One young man, alleged to be involved in the attack, was earlier beaten to death by the enraged mob.
12:06pm - Young child killed
A young child, estimated to be 12 years of age is among those killed. At least 37 other wounded have been counted at one hospital so far.
A stream of wounded are still being brought into nearby hospitals.
12:03pm - Suicide bombers
Initial reports suggest two suicide bombers reached the gates of two churches and blew themselves up. The attackers attempted to enter the churches, but were successfully stopped at the gates.
Eyewitnesses said that the Sunday church ceremony was underway when two suspects approached the main gate and opened fire, before blowing themselves up.
12:00pm - 3 dead
At least three people have died in the blasts. Many wounded are being brought into the hospital.
11:57am - Young man killed
According to initial reports, the mob has beaten the young man to death.
Eye witnesses claim the individual was involved in the attack.
11:55am - Mob beats up individual
The enraged crowd has beaten up an unknown person at the site of the blasts. The young man is estimated to be 20-22 years old.
11:50am - Critically wounded
The condition of several wounded is reported as critical. A large number of people have gathered at the hospital.
11:45am - 20 injured
Initial reports suggest at least 20 people were injured in the blasts who were shifted to Lahore General Hospital where an emergency has been imposed.
11:30am - Emergency teams dispatched
Emergency and security teams were dispatched to the site of explosion. The nature and intensity of the blasts are yet to be ascertained.
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly