Triple suicide attacks kill 40 at Data Darbar

175 injured as three suicide bombers blow themselves up inside shrine 

* Death toll likely to rise 

* 10-15 kilogramme explosives, ball-bearings used in each bomb

Source Daily Times  

LAHORE: Over 40 people were killed and another 175 injured when three suicide attackers blew themselves up inside the shrine of Lahore’s patron saint Syed Ali Hajwairi popularly known as Data Gunj Bakhsh, late on Thursday night.

The death toll was expected to rise further as the compound was jam-packed at the time of the blast due to the special prayers that are offered every Thursday night in the shrine. 

Eyewitnesses told Daily Times that a suicide bomber blew himself up in the basement of the building at about 11pm when thousands of visitors, including women and children, were present in the compound.

In the ensuing panic, people started running towards the upper part of the compound and towards the main exit doors. Five minutes later, another suicide bomber detonated himself inside the crowd on the upper portion of the compound. A third bomber blew himself up near the main gate of the shrine.

“At least 35 people were killed and 175 injured in the blasts,” Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervez said.

At least 25 of those wounded in the attacks are in critical condition, he said.

After minutes of the attacks, rescue officials reached the scene and started the rescue operation. 

A heavy police contingent and officials of the bomb disposal squad also reached the spot. Lahore District Coordination Officer Sajjad Bhutta and Capital City Police Officer Aslam Tareen were supervising the rescue efforts.

Police immediately cordoned off the entire area and started a search operation, while officials from bomb disposal squad also checked the entire shrine for explosives. 

Police say the bombers had used 10 to 15 kilogrammes of explosives in each blast along with ball-bearings. 

Rescue officials shifted more than 175 injured to city’s various hospitals.

Police sources confirmed that the city administration had been receiving threats about such an attack for the last one year. Police had beefed up security at the shrine, but the attackers managed to enter the compound undetected. 

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani have strongly condemned the attack. Both leaders have expressed deep grief and shock over the loss of precious human lives in the attack.