Dozens killed in Lahore car bombings

At least 24 people have been killed and dozens wounded in two suspected suicide bombings in Lahore, Pakistan.Officials said most of the dead and wounded were caught up in an attack on a government security office which focuses on illegal immigration and people smuggling."It is now more obvious that the terrorists are targeting the law-enforcement apparatus of the state," city police chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal said, adding that the blast was thought to have been caused by a suicide car-bomber.Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said the bomber 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 six miles away, killing three people including two children, he said.In all, 170 people were wounded in the two blasts.The attacks 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.Pakistan has been battling Islamist militancy since joining the US-led campaign against terrorism after the September 11, 2001, attacks.More than 500 people have been killed in Pakistan this year in militant-related violence, including a campaign of suicide bombings.Mr Musharraf has condemned the blasts."Acts of terrorism cannot deter the government's resolve to fight the scourge with full force," the state news agency quoted him as saying.Meanwhile, cricket officials said Australia has postponed their tour of Pakistan, which was to have started on March 29, because of security concerns.The two board chiefs are scheduled to meet in Dubai next week to discuss the future of the tour.© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

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ITN | March 11, 2008

Tags:. .government. .dead. .since. .security. .march