LAHORE, Pakistan: A bomb blast in an upscale shopping centre in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore killed at least eight people and wounded 20 on Thursday, officials said, the latest in a surge of violence that has shaken the country.
Security forces cordoned off the residential neighbourhood, also home to banks and coffee shops, rescue officials said, after what one bank worker said was a "frightening" explosion.
"We left the building and saw that the motor-bikes parked outside were on fire and all the windows in the surrounding buildings were shattered," Mohammad Khurram told Reuters.
Punjab police spokesman Nayab Haider told Reuters the explosion was caused by a "planted bomb" that was either time- or remotely detonated.
No one was allowed to leave or enter the area because the bomber was suspected to be at large, officials said.
Reports of a second explosion turned out to be a tyre blowout that caused panic due to the tense atmosphere in the city, a government official said.
Wave of attacks
Pakistan has been struck by a wave of militant attacks in recent weeks, killing at least 130 people across the country and leaving hundreds wounded.
The worst of the attacks was at a Sufi shrine in southern Sindh province that killed 90 people.
Thursday's bombing was the second attack in Lahore in two weeks. A suicide bombing on Feb. 13 killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 80 at a protest near the provincial assembly.
Government and military officials have vowed extensive operations to hunt down militants across the country and Pakistan's border with Afghanistan has been shut down due to security concerns.
After the shrine bombing, Pakistani security forces said they had killed more than 100 suspected militants in targeted campaigns across the country.
"It was a bomb attack," Nayab Haider, a spokesman for the provincial Punjab police said.
Rescue services spokeswoman Deeba Shehnaz also confirmed the casualty toll.
Television footage showed a smouldering building and several crumpled cars with their windows blown out.
The explosion took place in the particularly affluent Defence Housing Authority suburb of the city, replete with upscale boutiques and cafes as well as an academy for the international hair salon Toni & Guy.
It came a day after the military announced the launch of a nationwide anti-terrorist operation in the wake of a series of bloody assaults that have killed more than 130 people in the past two weeks.
Claims
The attacks, which were claimed by the Daesh and the Pakistani Taliban, dented growing optimism over the country's security after it appeared to be making strong gains in its decade-and-a-half long war on militancy.
The emergence of Daesh and a Taliban resurgence would be a major blow to Pakistan. Analysts have said the apparently coordinated nature of the attacks suggested militants were regrouping.
Pakistan has accused neighbouring Afghanistan of harbouring the militants who have carried out the attacks. Kabul and Islamabad routinely accuse one another of giving militants safe haven.
"The enemy is taking advantage of the turmoil in Afghanistan to launch terrorist attacks on Pakistan's soil," a foreign office spokesman told reporters at a regular press briefing Thursday as he condemned the attacks.
Islamabad launched a crackdown in the wake of the attacks, saying it has killed dozens of "terrorists" in recent days and carried out airstrikes on militant hideouts along the Afghan border before announcing the fresh military operation Wednesday.
Analysts said the military was seeking to limit militants' movements from one place to another by carrying out a nationwide operation.
"This operation will basically target sanctuaries... of militants in Punjab province and restrict their movements," defence analyst and retired general Talat Masood told AFP.
Pakistan had vowed to hold the final of its hugely popular Pakistan Super League in Lahore next month despite the surge in violence, part of an effort to bring international cricket back to the country, promising "head of state level" security for foreign players taking part.
The city, capital of Punjab province and Pakistan's second largest metropolis, was also the scene of an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in 2009. Pakistan has not hosted high-level visiting teams since then.
