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Pakistani Taliban claim bombing Pakistani Taliban claim bombing
(about 2 hours later)
The Pakistani Taliban have said they carried out a gun and bomb attack in Lahore which killed at least 24 people.The Pakistani Taliban have said they carried out a gun and bomb attack in Lahore which killed at least 24 people.
A deputy to Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud told the BBC by telephone the attack was in response to the army's operation in the Swat valley. A senior Taliban deputy told the BBC by telephone the attack was in response to the army's operation in the Swat valley and he threatened further violence.
The caller, who identified himself as Hakimullah Mehsud, threatened similar attacks in other Pakistani cities.
The army is claiming sweeping victories against Taliban insurgents in the Swat valley, near the Afghan border.The army is claiming sweeping victories against Taliban insurgents in the Swat valley, near the Afghan border.
It says more than 1,000 militants have been killed in the past month. There is no independent confirmation of the claims. Two explosions at a market in the north-western city of Peshawar have injured 15 people.
Warning The army says more than 1,000 militants have been killed in the past month. There has been no independent confirmation of the figure.
"The fidayeen [suicide] attack which took place in Lahore was not revenge for [the attacks in] North and South Waziristan," Hakimullah Mehsud, Taliban commander for Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions, told the BBC. It says it has recaptured 70% of Swat's main city, Mingora, and expects to secure it in a matter of days.
Barbara Plett in Islamabad: "The Pakistani Taliban say they are planning more attacks" 'Evacuate now'
"The military operation going on in Swat in which many innocent people are being killed and the bombing campaign against the mujahideen [fighters]... this is revenge for these acts," he said. Hakimullah Mehsud, Taliban commander for Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions, told the BBC that the Lahore attack had been an act of revenge for the military operation in Swat.
The caller said the Taliban had been preparing to hit Lahore from the day the operation started in Swat.
Giving a warning of similar attacks in other Pakistani cities on government installations, he advised citizens to evacuate.
"We love the people of Pakistan, and because of this love we politely ask the citizens of Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Multan to please evacuate their cities because we have marked out government targets there against whom we will carry out attacks as have never happened before," he warned.
Hakimullah Mehsud says the attack is to avenge the fighting in SwatHakimullah Mehsud says the attack is to avenge the fighting in Swat
The attack on Wednesday, which injured more than 200 people, targeted buildings belonging to the police and intelligence agency, the ISI. He accused Pakistani government forces of killing "many" innocent people.
A group of men shot at police officers before detonating a powerful car bomb. The Taliban had been preparing to hit Lahore from the day the operation started in Swat, he added.
Pakistan's government had suggested it suspects Pakistani Taliban involvement. Promising further attacks on "government targets" in Pakistani cities, which he listed as Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Multan, he called on residents to "evacuate their cities".
The police are still investigating the attack. On Thursday, several people were injured in two explosions in Peshawar which damaged shops and vehicles.
In a separate development, the Pakistan army has released what it claims is an intercepted telephone call from a Taliban spokesman in Swat, Muslim Khan. Police official Anwar Shah told the AFP new agency that one person had been killed.
In the call, Muslim Khan is heard encouraging an attack on Pakistani cities in response to the army operation in Swat. "Some of the wounded are in a serious condition," he said.
Muslim Khan is based in Swat and is connected to the Swat Taliban leader, Maulana Fazlullah, who is a target of the current military offensive. Television images showed emergency vehicles at the scene and injured people being dragged out of the market to safety.
Powerful blast
Pakistan's government said in the immediate aftermath of the Lahore bomb that it suspected it to be an act of revenge by militants in Swat.
ATTACKS ON LAHORE THIS YEAR 3 March Gunmen kill six police guards in an ambush on the Sri Lanka cricket team30 March Gunmen attack a police academy, killing eight people27 May A car bomb attack on police buildings kills at least 23 Hunt for Lahore cricket attackers Siege at Pakistan police academyATTACKS ON LAHORE THIS YEAR 3 March Gunmen kill six police guards in an ambush on the Sri Lanka cricket team30 March Gunmen attack a police academy, killing eight people27 May A car bomb attack on police buildings kills at least 23 Hunt for Lahore cricket attackers Siege at Pakistan police academy
The army says it has recaptured 70% of the region's main city, Mingora, and expects to secure it in a matter of days. The attack on Wednesday, which injured more than 200 people, targeted buildings belonging to the police and intelligence agency, the ISI.
In Wednesday's Lahore attack, at least one ISI agent, 12 police officers and one child were reported killed. A group of men shot at police officers before detonating a powerful car bomb, reportedly killing at least one ISI agent and 12 police officers, along with one child.
Local officials have speculated that the military intelligence agency could have been the target. Local officials speculated that the military intelligence agency could have been the target.
The ISI's offices were damaged by the bombing, and a police emergency response building was flattened. Its offices were damaged while an adjacent police emergency response building was flattened.
A least two arrests were made, but police officials later told the BBC that those detained appear to have been innocent bystanders. A least two arrests were made but police officials later told the BBC that those detained appeared to have been innocent bystanders.
Cash reward
Lahore, in Punjab province near the Indian border, is known as Pakistan's cultural capital and is far from the Swat valley.Lahore, in Punjab province near the Indian border, is known as Pakistan's cultural capital and is far from the Swat valley.
Barbara Plett in Islamabad: "The Pakistani Taliban say they are planning more attacks"
But in March militants laid siege to a police compound in the city, killing eight people, and weeks earlier the Sri Lanka cricket team was attacked there.But in March militants laid siege to a police compound in the city, killing eight people, and weeks earlier the Sri Lanka cricket team was attacked there.
'Sustained violence'
The BBC's Shoaib Hasan, in Islamabad, says Lahore is facing a sustained campaign of violence unlike any it has seen before.The BBC's Shoaib Hasan, in Islamabad, says Lahore is facing a sustained campaign of violence unlike any it has seen before.
He says security officials believe the city is under attack because it is seen as a stable home for Pakistan's Punjab-dominated army.He says security officials believe the city is under attack because it is seen as a stable home for Pakistan's Punjab-dominated army.
Meanwhile, the authorities have announced a cash reward for the arrest of 21 Taliban leaders, including Swat Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah and his spokesman, Muslim Khan.Meanwhile, the authorities have announced a cash reward for the arrest of 21 Taliban leaders, including Swat Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah and his spokesman, Muslim Khan.
Adverts listing the men - 18 with pictures - appeared in several newspapers on Thursday. Top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud already has a $5m bounty on his head posted by the United States.Adverts listing the men - 18 with pictures - appeared in several newspapers on Thursday. Top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud already has a $5m bounty on his head posted by the United States.
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