Deadly bomb attack in Lahore, Pakistan, latest in string of attacks - UPDATE

RFE/RL
Thu, 23 Feb 2017 19:04 UTC

© AFP

Pakistani security officials cordon off the site of a deadly bomb attack in Lahore on February 23.

A bomb explosion in the Pakistani city of Lahore has left at least eight people dead and about 20 injured, officials say.

The February 23 blast struck an upscale shopping district, a spokesman for the Punjab provincial police said.

Police said the area had been sealed off and the cause of the explosion, which appeared to target a popular restaurant, was under investigation.

There were reports of a second explosion, but police said that turned out to be a false alarm.

The explosion came one day after authorities announced a national antiterrorism alert after the country was rocked by a spate of attacks that left more than 130 people dead.

On February 16, a militant detonated explosives at a Sufi shrine in Sindh province, killing 90 people. The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for that attack.

On February 13, a Taliban suicide-bomb attack in Lahore killed 13 people.

Comment: The uptick in attacks in Pakistan comes at an interesting time. See:

• Pakistan's Eurasian Solution for the Conflict in Afghanistan

Update (Feb. 24): Pakistani police are now saying this wasn't a terror attack, but a gas leak:

Authorities said on February 24 that the explosion was "an accident" and that there were no indications of explosives.

Earlier, numerous officials sources had said with certainty that the incident was a terrorist attack.

Punjab provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah blamed the error on chaos following the incident and suggested a need for new procedures on communicating with the media in emergencies.