Pakistan: Death toll in Lahore Sufi shrine suicide attack rises to 13

As per officials, police was the target of the blast and that terror group Hizbul Ahrar had claimed responsibility for sending the teenage suicide bomber to the shrine.

Pakistani security officials examine the site of a bomb blast outside a Sufi shrine in Lahore on May 8, 2019. - A blast at one of Pakistan's oldest and most popular Sufi shrines killed at least five people and wounded 24 in the eastern city of Lahore May 8, police said, as the country marks the fasting month of Ramadan. (Photo by ARIF ALI / AFP)

New Delhi: The death toll in the devastating suicide attack at Pakistan’s Sufi Shrine in Lahore, has risen to 13 as one more victim succumbed to injuries, a media report said on Monday. As per agencies, 18-year-old Tahir Aslam, was working at a shop near the shrine, when the blast took place. He was among the critically injured and was brought to the Mayo Hospital. The powerful blast rocked the city and claimed lives of six policemen and seven civilians, a report in the Dawn said. The blast took place on Wednesday, on the second day of fasting month of holy Ramazan, when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Data Darbar shrine, the largest Sufi Shrine in South Asia. A teenage boy dressed in black along with a suicide vest was seen approaching vehicle of elite force, before triggering the blast, in a CCTV footage released later. The footage has helped authorities to identify the rickshaw driver who transported the bomber to the area. As per officials, police was the target of the blast and that terror group Hizbul Ahrar had claimed responsibility for sending the teenage suicide bomber to the shrine. Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack and has directed the Punjab government to provide all assistance to the injured and families of victims. The famous shrine is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. In 2010, the heavily-guarded shrine was targeted in a suicide attack that killed more than 40 people. (with inputs from PTI)