At Least 35 Killed, Hundreds Wounded in Lahore Bombings

Triple Bombing Hit Shi'ite Procession

Though such high profile bombings are nearly routine at this point, Pakistan is once again reeling tonight after an apparently coordinated triple bombing against a Shi’ite religious procession in the city of Lahore left at least 35 dead and over 250 others wounded.

The attacks started with a hand grenade, which started a stampede of fleeing people who ran into a suicide bomber. The attacks sparked clashes with police, at which time a third attacker struck with a suicide bomb.

A banned group called Lashkar-e Jhangvi al-Almi (LeJ) claimed credit for the attacks. The group, like many others in Pakistan, has links to Kashmiri separatist movements, but the group has also launched a number of attacks against Pakistani targets, as well as against the US Consulate in Karachi in 2006.

The attack is just the latest in a growing number of attacks by Sunni militant groups against the nation’s Shi’ite minority. The Pakistani government has pledged an investigation.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.