Death toll from Lahore bombings rises to 31

Source Dawn (Pakistan)

The death toll from three suicide bombings in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore rose to 31 on Thursday as six people succumbed to their injuries, a rescue official said. Three suicide bombers targeted a Shia mourning procession near Karbala Gamay Shah, made up of thousands of people on Wednesday at the moment of the breaking of the fast in the holy month of Ramazan. "Thirty-one people have died and a total of 281 were injured," Fahim Jehanzeb, a spokesman for Lahore's rescue agency told AFP, adding that he feared more would die from their injuries. Reacting violently to the explosions, people in the procession attacked a police building, set public property on fire and fought with riot police for more than an hour. The blasts, two of which the police confirmed were suicide attacks, took place in a span of 20 minutes despite what appeared to be tight police security. Witnesses said a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security barrier at Karbala Gamay Shah chowk at around 7pm when a large number of people were there after the culmination of the main procession.