Armed millitants detonated a car bomb outside Pakistan’s spy agency (ISI) offices today, killing 30 and wounding over 250 others.
The attack is speculated to be retaliation for the governments military action against the Taliban in the Federally Administered Tribal Agencies:
Associated Press: At least four men with rifles stepped from the car and opened fire on the intelligence agency building, then set off a massive blast when security guards returned fire, officials said.
Raja Riaz, a senior minister in the Punjab provincial government, told reporters that about 30 people were killed. Sajjad Bhutta, another senior government official, told reporters more than 250 people were injured.
The explosion sheared the walls off buildings in a main business district. The ceilings of operating rooms in a nearby hospital collapsed, injuring 20 people. TV footage showed bleeding bystanders and emergency workers carrying the injured toward ambulances. Rescuers rushed to free officers buried in the rubble.
“The moment the blast happened, everything went dark in front of my eyes,” witness Muhammad Ali said. “The way the blast happened, then gunfire, it looked as if there was a battle going on.”
