1 The Long War Journal: Dual suicide bombings in Lahore kill 28

Written by Bill Roggio on March 11, 2008 12:10 PM to 1 The Long War Journal

Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/03/dual_suicide_bombing.php

Taliban suicide bombers have struck again in the Pakistan city of Lahore. Near-simultaneous suicide car bomb attacks hit two buildings in Lahore, killing at least 28 and wounding over 160 Pakistanis. One of the suicide car bombers struck an office building housing Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency headquarters and a US counterterrorism team.

Pakistani officials received warnings the offices of the Federal Investigation Agency would be attacked, "but we were not expecting it in Lahore," Federal Investigation Agency chief Tariq Pervaz told Geo News. "The agency mainly deals with immigration and people smuggling but the building also housed the offices of a special US-trained unit created to counter terrorism," Geo News reported. Twenty-two Pakistanis were killed in the blast; no US deaths have been reported in the blast that tore the front of the eight-story office building.

The second bombing occurred outside an advertising firm, but the motive for this attack is unclear. At least six Pakistanis were killed and scores wounded in the bombing.

Today's dual suicide bombing in Lahore is the sixth major strike inside Pakistan since Feb. 25. The Taliban's last major attack occurred at the Naval War College in Lahore on March 4. Seven Pakistanis were killed and 21 were wounded in that attack.

An attack at a tribal meeting in the settled district of Kohat in the Northwest Frontier Province on March 2 resulted in more than 40 killed and 40 wounded. The tribal leaders were discussing how to curb Taliban attacks in Kohat and the neighboring Orakzai tribal agency.

A suicide bomber attacked a vehicle of the Bajaur Levies on March 1. Two paramilitary soldiers were killed and 24 were wounded. A suicide bomber struck at a policeman's funeral in the settled district of Lakki Marwat on Feb. 29. More than 40 Pakistanis were killed and scores more were wounded, many of them critically.

On Feb. 25, a suicide bomber killed the Pakistani Army's surgeon general in the military garrison city of Rawalpindi. Seven others were killed in the attack and 20 were wounded after a Taliban suicide bomber rammed into Lieutenant General Mushtaq Ahmed Baig's staff car. Mushtaq is the senior-most general killed in Pakistan since Sept. 11, 2001.