Suicide bombing kills dozens at Pakistan border crossing
At least 45 die as blast rips through crowds at ceremony near border crossing with India
A suicide bomber killed at least 45 people yesterday at the main Pakistan-India border crossing, the blast tearing through crowds of spectators leaving after the colourful daily ceremony to close the frontier.
The blast at Wagah border gate near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore came after the "flag-lowering" ceremony, a display of military pageantry that attracts thousands of spectators every day and is popular with tourists.
A senior Pakistani Taliban commander claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bombing was a rare strike in Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province and powerbase of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, which has been spared the worst of the Islamist violence.
"It appears to have been a suicide attack. At least 45 people have been killed. Women and children were also killed," Mushtaq Sukhera, the Punjab provincial police chief, said. At least 60 were wounded in the blast.
Lahore police chief Amin Wains confirmed it was a suicide attack. "Ball bearings were found at the scene," he said.
Huge crowds gather on both sides at Wagah each sunset to see the display of military pageantry that accompanies the formal closing of the border post.