Bomb blast hits Dera Ghazi Khan

[ejaz007]

Several hurt in blast near Khosa house in DIK
Updated at: 1454 PST, Tuesday, December 15, 2009


DERA GHAZI KHAN: Several people are feared to have been injured in a blast that occurred near a house in central Khosa market area in Dera Ghazi Khan, Geo News quoted police sources Tuesday.

According to initial report, the blast occurred near City Hotel here near the residence of Senior Adviser Zulfiqar Khosa causing great damage to the house of the senior adviser.

No reports regarding the nature of blast could be ascertained as yet. However, the blast was so powerful that it was heard far and wide and damaged the house of Punjab Senior Advisor Zulfiqar Khosa and windowpanes of the nearby buildings were smashed.

The relief teams including ambulances have been dispatched towards the blast site.

Several hurt in blast near Khosa house in DIK - GEO.tv

 

[Cheetah786]

A bomb blast in the town of Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan's Punjab province has left several people with injuries and caused widespread damage, according to residents and officials.

The blast on Tuesday occurred in a market, close to the house of Zulfiqar Khosa, an adviser to the chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province.

"A bomb went off in a busy market, it destroyed eight to 10 shops ... I am very certain it was a car bomb blast," Hasan Iqbal, the town's police commissioner, said.

Tariq Gurmani, a resident of the town, said that he had seen several people who had suffered injuries in the explosion.

More than 500 people have been killed in bomb blasts in Pakistan since October, in violence blamed on pro-Taliban fighters who are battling an army offensive in the country's northwest
Al Jazeera English - CENTRAL/S. ASIA - Bomb blast hits Pakistani town

 

[Cheetah786]

DG KHAN (updated on: December 15, 2009, 14:51 PST): An explosive laden car hit the house of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Zulfiqar Khosa in Dera Ghazi Khan killing 15 persons and injuring 50 others on Tuesday, Aaj News reported.

According to initial reports a suicide bomber rammed his car at the residence of Zulfiqar Khosa damaging the entrance gate and buildings adjacent to his house.

Police and other rescue team have reached the blast site. Injured and dead bodies are being shifted to District Headquarter Hospitals.

While talking to Aaj news Zulfiqar Khosa said that, his family members are safe as they were out of town and he is not sure whether he was the target or not.

 

[TaimiKhan]

May Allah give peace to the departed souls and courage to the families to bear their loss, Ameen.

 

[New Shivaji]

Bomb blast 'kills 18' in central Pakistani town

At least 18 people have been killed in a bomb attack in a market in central Pakistan, officials say.

More than 20 others were wounded in the blast in Dera Ghazi Khan, which badly damaged a number of buildings.

TV footage showed rescuers struggling to reach people trapped in debris. Officials say the target may have been a provincial official, who was unhurt.

Pakistan has recently been hit by a string of attacks which have left hundreds of people dead or injured.

The latest comes amid a continuing army offensive against the Taliban's stronghold in the north-west.

Police believe the blast was caused by a car bomb.

"There are many people trapped in the rubble after the powerful blast demolished some 10 shops," senior local official Hassan Iqbal told AFP news agency.

He feared the number of casualties could rise.

District health officer Dr Pervez Haider Altaf told AFP a state of emergency had been declared and people were searching for survivors.

"The hospital in the town has been crowded by the people looking for their relatives. Rescue efforts are still going on," he said.

The house of senior provincial government adviser Zulfiqar Khosa was damaged in the blast but he was not among the injured, officials said.

BBC News - Bomb blast 'kills 18' in central Pakistani town

 

[Ahmad]

Deadly bombing hits Pakistani town



At least 22 people have been killed and 70 injured in a car bomb blast in the town of Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan's Punjab province, local officials have said.

The blast on Tuesday occurred in a market, close to the house of Zulfiqar Khosa, an adviser to the chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province.

"There are many people trapped in the rubble after the powerful blast demolished some 10 shops ... The rescue work is under way and we fear the toll may go up," Hassan Iqbal, the town commissioner, said.

"It was a terrorist activity, similar to those being carried out in other parts of the country."

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Shia unease

Imran Khan, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, said that it was unclear whether Khosa was the target of the bombing. No-one in Khosa's house is thought to have been killed.

"Zulfikar Khosa is a close confidante of Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan and the PML-N leader. It is the Islamic holy of Muharram right now, and Dera Ghazi Khan has seen violence take place [during that time]," he said.

"Muharram is a very holy month for the Shia community here in Pakistan. Ever since Muharram started, Shia community leaders have been saying that [they] need to have more security around holy sites.

"Shia leaders had said that Dera Ghazi Khan was one of the targeted areas and should be more secure."

More than 500 people have been killed in bomb blasts in Pakistan since October, in violence blamed on pro-Taliban fighters who are battling an army offensive in the country's northwest.

The US government has called on Islamabad to step up its efforts against Taliban- and al-Qaeda-linked fighters who cross over into Afghanistan.

However, Pakistan has said that it has to focus on a rising domestic insurgency which has killed more than 2,680 people in the last two-and-a-half years.

 

[grey boy 2]

My condolences to all the dead, injuries and families,

May God bless them.

 

[pagans]

RIP for the dead.

 

[Hulk]

RIP for the dead

 

[Halaku Khan]

This seems to have occurred within hours of a blast in Kabul. (Afghanistan: suicide car bomb kills eight outside Kabul hotel popular with Westerners - Telegraph)

Condolences to innocent victims and relatives in both Kabul and Dera Ghazi Khan.

 

[Ahmad]

This seems to have occurred within hours of a blast in Kabul. (Afghanistan: suicide car bomb kills eight outside Kabul hotel popular with Westerners - Telegraph)

Condolences to innocent victims and relatives in both Kabul and Dera Ghazi Khan.

yes, about 8 civilians were killed and more than 40 injured in Kabul. may allah gives strenght to the victims' families and punish the murderes.

 

[Ahmad]

thats a repeat thread.

 

[Metallic]

Blast kills 22 near lawmaker's home in Pakistan
PAKISTAN - 15 DECEMBER 2009

ISLAMABAD – A suicide car bomb exploded in a market close to the home of a politician in Pakistan's most populous province Tuesday, killing 22 people and wounding 70 others.

The blast in the Punjabi town of Dera Ghazi Khan was the latest in a series of attacks that have killed more than 500 people in Pakistan since October. The bloodshed has been blamed on Taliban militants avenging an army offensive against the Taliban in the northwest.

The lawmaker was not at home at the time and most of the dead and injured were people shopping or working at the market. It was unclear whether the bomber targeted the politician's home or the market.

The attack badly damaged the house and several nearby shops and buildings. Many people were trapped under the rubble, and TV footage showed rescue workers scrambling around a smoke-filled pile of debris and metal.

"The whole market has collapsed," Raza Khan, a local resident, told The Associated Press by phone. "There is smoke and people running here and there."

Rescue official Natiq Hayat said 22 people were killed and 70 wounded. Police officer Hasan Iqbald said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

The lawmaker whose home was hit, Zulfiqar Khosa, is a senior member of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party, which is in charge of the Punjab government but is in the opposition in the federal government.

Police and politicians in Punjab are under pressure to crack down on militant networks that have long recruited in its poor villages and Islamic boarding schools.

The militants have staged several attacks in Punjab to illustrate their reach across the country, far beyond the northwest tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. Dera Ghazi Khan district is in Punjab but borders the country's other three provinces.

Zulfiqar Khosa's son, Dost Mohammad Khosa, said two of his cousins were among the wounded.

"It was a direct attack on us," Dost Mohammad Khosa alleged, declining to speculate who was behind the blast.

Militants have mostly targeted security forces in recent months, but lawmakers and court buildings also have been attacked. There have also been at least three bombs in crowded markets, apparently aimed at causing civilian casualties and undercutting public support for the army offensive.

Source: Associated Press

 

[MIRZA UMAIR]

http://www.france24.com/en/files/im...e_group_main_thumbnail/article/image/Pakistan

 

[TaimiKhan]

Total Casualties have reached so far to about 29 dead, with 50+ injured.

This one was a huge explosion too, about 700-1000KG explosives used.

Still not clear whether IED or Suicide Bomb.