Twin suicide blasts kill 24 in Lahore

Lahore: Two suicide car bombers struck in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday, killing 24 people and wounding scores.

One bomb went off near the entrance of the city-centre Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), badly damaging the multi-storey office and nearby buildings.

"It is now more obvious that the terrorists are targeting the law enforcement apparatus of the state," city police chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal told reporters.

The blasts came as opposition parties that won a February 18 election were forming a coalition government, raising hopes for political stability after months of turmoil over opposition to President Pervez Musharraf. Parliament is set to open its session on March 17.

Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said the bomber at the FIA building killed 21 people, 12 of them agency staff.

At about the same time, a second suicide bomber in a car struck in a mainly residential neighbourhood of the eastern city, about 10 km away, killing three people including two children, he said.

In all, 170 people were wounded, he said.