At least 26 killed in two blasts in Lahore

LAHORE, Pakistan, March 11 (Agencies) - Two bombs exploded in Lahore city, capital of Punjab province, Tuesday morning, killing at least 26 people and injuring up to 175 others, police and officials said. The first bomb went off at about 9.25 a.m. outside the city-centre Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) offices, badly damaging the eight-storey building and nearby buildings on the busy Mall Road. Reports said 20 persons were killed. �We're trying to evacuate the wounded trapped under the debris,� FIA chief Tariq Pervez told Reuters from Islamabad. Chaudhry Manzoor, the director of the agency, which focuses on illegal immigration, said 14 employees had been killed.

A second bomb went off in the mainly residential neighbourhood of Model Town, about 10 km from the site of the first blast, killing two children and another person, besides the two suicide bombers, said a city administrator, Mian Ejaz. Police said the second attack was caused by a suicide car bomb. The car had two people inside and blew up after it was stopped at the gate of an advertising agencies office. Last week a twin-suicide bombing killed five people in an attack on a navy college in the city. According to private TV channels the blast at the FIA building took place near the elevator. On the other hand, the posh Model Town blast was caused when the explosive laden vehicle was dashed against the boundary wall of the bungalow housing the advertising agency. The two children killed were brothers. Emergency has been declared in Lahore hospitals which have so far received up to 100 injured, the TV channels reported. (First Posted @ 09:50 PST, Updated @ 19:15 PST)