At least six people, including four soldiers and two civilians, were killed and almost 20 people were injured in a suicide bombing at Bedian Road in Lahore, Pakistan, on Wednesday morning. The bombing that took place around 7:15 am, targeted an army vehicle carrying security personnel and a census team.
Several pictures from the blast site showed that a couple of vans and a motorcycle damaged due to the impact. According to the security sources, the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. However, it still remains to be determined whether the attacker was on foot or was riding a motorcycle. The explosion led to a fire that engulfed the cars parked nearby.
"This was a suicide blast, however the amount of explosives used has yet to be determined," Malik Ahmad Khan, Punjab government spokesperson, told Geo News. He also added that the two civilians who died in the blast were a part of the census team.
"It can safely be assumed that this census team and the security personnel with it were the target of the suicide bomber all along," Khan said.
An eye witness said: "I was standing a hundred steps away from the incident. I called 112 [Emergency Ambulance Service] which reached the site 20 minutes later."
The authorities said that the injured people were rushed to General Hospital and Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in the city. Local media reports said three of the injured are believed to be critical. The area was cordoned off and a search operation by rangers, army and police officials was underway after the explosion.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his condolences on the loss of lives in the suicide bombing. He also paid tribute to the army jawans "who were targeted while performing their duties during the national census."
Sharif instructed the police to provide all the necessary assistance to the provincial government of Punjab and to take required actions. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has condemned the blast and directed the authorities to provide medical facilities to the injured. He has also sought a report of the blast.
