LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on army personnel that killed at least six people and wounded 18 in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday.

Punjab government spokesman Malik Ahmed Khan said the blast, which hit an army vehicle taking part in Pakistan’s census, killed four soldiers and two civilian bystanders.

Scores of people have been killed since the beginning of the year in a series of attacks that have dashed hopes of an end to the violence of recent years and stepped up pressure on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government to improve security.

TV footage showed security personnel blocking off the street around the site of the explosion, close to an elite police training school which was the site of a Pakistani Taliban attack in 2009.

The apparent targeting of personnel involved in the census, the first in 19 years, underlined the challenge to government institutions in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state of some 200 million people.

Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city and capital of the Punjab region, was already on high alert following a bomb attack last month that killed at least 13 people.

Muhammad Khurassani, a spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned Islamist movement often called the Pakistani Taliban, issued a statement claiming responsibility.

The spate of attacks has ratcheted up tensions with neighboring Afghanistan, which some Pakistani officials accuse of sheltering TTP militants. Afghanistan’s government, in its turn, accuses Islamabad of aiding the Afghan Taliban, a charge Pakistan denies.</s>At least six people, including four soldiers, have been killed and over 18 injured after a suicide bomber targeted an army vehicle in Lahore, Pakistan. The attack took place Wednesday morning. More details are awaited.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>LAHORE, Pakistan: A suicide bomber killed at least four people and wounded 18 when he blew himself up near an army vehicle in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday, a police official said.

The blast hit a vehicle taking part in Pakistan's census, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.</s>At least seven people were killed and up to 19 were wounded in a suicide blast in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday. The bombing claimed by the Pakistani Taliban targeted an army vehicle taking part in the census, killing five soldiers and two civilians. As per reports, security personnel blocked the street around the site of the explosion, close to an elite police training school which was the site of a Pakistani Taliban attack in 2009.

According to the reports by AFP, “Witnesses were knocked to the ground by the blast, then a “horrible scene” of blood and bodies and the sound of crying. Security forces cordoned off the area on Bedian Road in the bustling capital of Punjab province.”

At least 13 people were killed in another attack in Lahore last month. The census exercise is under process after two decades in Pakistan, and for the security concerns, census officials are being accompanied by Pakistan military to conduct data. And the targeting of persons involved in the census underlines the vulnerabilities of government institutions in Pakistan.

Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said the census would be completed “at any cost”. Earlier today, speaking with Geo News, Sindh IGP AD Khawaja said on Wednesday that Special arrangements will be made to ensure the security of census teams working in sensitive areas.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>A suicide bomb blast has hit an army vehicle in the Pakistani city of Lahore, according to local authorities.

A police official told the Reuters news agency that at least four people were killed and 18 others wounded in Wednesday's attack. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.

Pakistan is currently carrying out its first census since the last was held in 1998. The military is helping the Civilian Bureau of Statistics carry out a door-to-door survey of the population.

The vehicle that was carrying the census team was approached on the outskirts of Lahore by a motorcycle, Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Peshawar, said.

The suicide bomber riding the motorcycle detonated the device, killing two civilians who were part of the census team, Hyder said.</s>LAHORE, Pakistan: A suicide bomber killed at least six people and wounded 18 when he blew himself up near an army vehicle taking part in a census in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday, officials in the area said.

Punjab government spokesman Malik Ahmed Khan told Geo TV that four soldiers and two civilian bystanders were among the dead.

TV footage showed security personnel blocking off the street around the site of the explosion, close to a market.

The blast, the latest in a series that has killed scores of people in Pakistan since the beginning of the year, follows an attack in Lahore last month that killed at least 13 and wounded dozens more.

There was no initial claim of responsibility for the explosion, which some television stations initially said had been caused by a gas leak.</s>A suicide bomber killed at least six people and wounded 18 when he blew himself up near an army vehicle taking part in a census in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday, officials in the area said. Punjab government spokesman Malik Ahmed Khan told Geo TV that four soldiers and two civilian bystanders were among the dead.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>At least six people have been reported killed and 15 injured in an explosion in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.

"This was a suicide blast," Punjab government spokesman Malik Ahmed Khan said on April 5, adding that the attack targeted an army vehicle taking part in Pakistan's census.

Khan said the dead included four soldiers and two civilians.

"It appears to have been an act of terrorism," Punjab provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said.

The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) extremist group claimed responsibility for what it called a suicide attack.

On February 13, a Taliban suicide-bomb attack in Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, killed 14 people.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters</s>LAHORE - Four soldiers of Pakistan Army and an off-duty officer of Pakistan Air Force were among six men who died in a suicide blast on Lahore’s Bedian Road early Wednesday.

At least 18 persons, including nine military personnel, were admitted to hospitals with multiple injuries following the suicide blast, the second in Lahore since February. The death toll could rise as condition of three of the wounded was reported to be critical.

Over one and a half dozen army personnel were going to join census duties in a private van when the blast took place at Manawala bus stop near Bhatta Chowk.

Reportedly, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan accepted responsibility for the attack. In a statement TTP said it had carried out the attack in revenge on security forces.

An eyewitness said the bomber, said to be in his early 20s, approached security men when they were getting off the van. The blast was so powerful that it badly damaged the van. “I was going to appear in a practical exam with my father in a car when the blast happened. My father was also wounded seriously,” a teenage boy told reporters at a hospital bed.

Another teenage boy said he was waiting for transport at the bus stop when a powerful blast knocked him down. “I fell on the ground and lost consciousness,” said Abid who was admitted to Lahore General Hospital with bleeding ears.

A number of fruit and vegetable vendors were busy in their business when the blast occurred in the busy locality. Bedian Road is used by many commuters to reach DHA’s upscale Phase-V neighbourhood.

Police investigators said they believe the attacker and his facilitator, both not identified yet, were chasing the white-colour van on a motorcycle. The handler fled instantly after dropping the bomber at a bus stop as security personnel arrived there in a private van.

Wednesday’s blast comes barely two months after the suicide attack on The Mall that killed 14 people, including six police officers.

Punjab’s Counter-Terrorism Department last night said, “It was a suicide blast.” The CTD spokesperson said six men, including four army personnel, died in the blast. “The attacker who got down from motorcycle blew himself up near the army personnel, resulting in six deaths and 18 injuries,” the spokesman said.

Five men, including three army personnel, died on the spot while another security officer succumbed to wounds at a hospital hours later. Nine military personnel were admitted to Lahore’s Combined Military Hospital with multiple injuries.

The martyred military personnel were identified as Havaldar Riaz, Lance Naik Irshad, Sepoy Muhammad Sajid and Sepoy Abdur Rehman. Another two victims named by police as Muhammad Boota and Awais were said to be local residents.

A serving officer of Pakistan Air Force, Awais, riding in a car along with his wife Tehmina, was going home when the blast took place close to their vehicle. Awais who was enjoying leave with his family died instantly while his wife was admitted to Lahore’s PAF hospital with serious injuries.

The funeral prayers for the martyred servicemen were held at Ayyub Stadium Wednesday evening. Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Governor Rafique Rajwana, Lahore Corps Commander Lt-Gen Sadiq Ali, top police officers and a large number of military officers attended the funeral prayers.

Corps Commander Lt-Gen Sadiq Ali visited the hospitals to enquire after the wounded. On this occasion, he vowed the attackers behind the Bedian Road incident would not go unpunished. “The indiscriminate operation against terrorists will continue,” a private TV channel quoted the commander as saying during his visit to the Lahore CMH.

Forensic experts, police investigators and intelligence operatives rushed to the blast site soon after the incident. They were seen collecting evidences from the crime scene.

Police and security forces launched a crackdown in the locality soon after the blast and arrested four terror suspects. The van driver, Usman, who was also injured in the blast, is said to be among the suspects detained after the attack.

An official of the bomb disposal squad told this reporter that that at least 10-kg explosive was used in the blast. He said they also recovered ball bearings from the crime scene. The head of the bomber was recovered some 30 feet away from the place where he detonated his vest, police investigators said.

A criminal case under Anti-Terrorism Act was registered with Lahore’s CTD police station on the complaint of the station house officer.

According to the FIR, the SHO was on routine monitoring duty when he saw a white van stopping near Manawala stop on Bedian Road near Bhatta Chowk. “The van was carrying army personnel on census duty. The SHO then saw two persons on a motorcycle stopping one of whom disembarked while the other sped away. The attacker who alighted from the motorcycle blasted himself near the army personnel resulting in six deaths and 18 injuries.

A joint investigation team, comprising CTD police, security and intelligence officers, has launched investigations to unearth those who masterminded or facilitated the terror attack.

A Punjab police spokesman said security was intensified across the province in the wake of Lahore blast. He said field officers were directed to remain on their toes and ensure best security around worship places, key government installations and educational institutions, particularly those with co-education.

The top government officials, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, President Mamnoon Hussain, Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana strongly condemned the attack.

Lahore was already placed under high alert. Security agencies had also warned the provincial government of the possible suicide attack two weeks ago. The photo of an alleged bomber was also displayed in the police stations of the provincial metropolis and people were requested to inform the police if they saw Irfan, the man in picture.

white van stopping near Manawala stop on Bedian Road near Bhatta Chowk. “The van was carrying army personnel on census duty. The SHO then saw two persons on a motorcycle stopping one of whom disembarked while the other sped away. The attacker who alighted from the motorcycle blasted himself near the army personnel resulting in six deaths and 18 injuries.</s>At least six people have been killed and 18 others wounded in an explosion on an army census team in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

LAHORE, PAKISTAN—A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a vehicle carrying census workers in eastern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six people — two data collectors and four soldiers who were escorting them, a government spokesman and police said.

The attack took place on the outskirts of Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, said Malik Ahmad Khan, the provincial government spokesperson. The border with India is several kilometres away from the site of the explosion.

A local police official, Mohammad Afzal, said that along with the six killed, 15 people were wounded in the blast.

TV stations aired footage showing the census workers’ badly destroyed vehicle. The blast was so powerful that it also damaged nearby shops.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, as well as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militants and Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, have all claimed past attacks in Punjab.
A suicide bomber kills at least six people and wounds 18 near a Pakistan Army vehicle taking part in the census in the city of Lahore.