December 2009 Lahore attacks

Last updated

December 2009 Lahore attacks
Location Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore, Pakistan
Date7 December 2009 (2009-12-07)
9:00 p.m. – ? (UTC+05:00)
TargetCivilians
Attack type
 Suicide bombing, shooting
DeathsAt least 54
Injured150
PerpetratorsSuicide bombers: Pashtun teens
Shooters: Unknown

The December 2009 Lahore attacks were a series of two bomb blasts and a shooting which occurred in a crowded market in Lahore, Pakistan on 7 December 2009. At least 54 people were killed & about 150 others wounded. [1]

Contents

Attacks

The blasts took place in the Moon Market of Lahore's Allama Iqbal town late in the night. [2] One of the blasts was in front of Muslim Commercial Bank and the second one was in front of Moon Market faisal irfan jewellers. The two blasts which were within 30 seconds of each other resulted in a blaze which engulfed the shops in the market. [3] The attack came at about 9:00 pm local time and struck a corner of the market where women were buying clothes. After the blasts the militants fired at the people fleeing the scene. [4] Most of the victims were women. [5] The second blast was near an electricity pole and caused a short circuit which is thought to have led to the fire. [6]

Story

After initial investigations Civil Defence District Officer Mazhar Ahmed stated that it appeared that both blasts were caused by suicide bombers. According to preliminary reports the bombers were about 18 years of age and from southern Punjab (Pakistan). [7] The Federal Bureau of Investigation sent a team to the market who collected samples of explosives and other evidence from the site. [8]

Widespread conspiracy theories circulated after the attacks that India and United States were behind the violence and government officials stoked this perception. However analyst Hassan Askari-Rizvi dismissing these theories stated that the idea that India may be behind the terror attacks is "a very widely shared perception, but there's hardly any evidence to substantiate that. They [the militants] have attacked civilians in the past. I think the government consciously creates that confusion." [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July 2010 Lahore bombings</span>

The July 2010 Lahore bombings occurred on 1 July 2010 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the Sufi shrine, Data Darbar Complex. At least 50 people were killed and 200 others were hurt in the blasts. It was the biggest attack on a Sufi shrine in Pakistan since 2001.

The September 2010 Quetta bombing occurred on 3 September 2010 in Quetta, Pakistan. At least 73 people were killed and 206 injured when a bomb exploded in a Quds Day procession which Shias were carrying out to express solidarity with Palestinians.

This is a list of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the calendar year 2011.

These are the list of Terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2010.

In 2008, Pakistan saw 40 terrorist attacks, which caused 154 fatalities and 256 injuries.

In 2009, Pakistan suffered 50 terrorist, insurgent and sectarian-related incidents that killed 180 people and injured 300.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2012. Pakistan has faced numerous attacks by insurgents as a result of the ongoing War in North-West Pakistan by the Pakistani military against militant groups, part of the War on Terror. At the same time, there have also been numerous drone attacks in Pakistan carried out by the United States which exclusively target members of militant groups along the Afghan border regions.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2013. Some of the incidents are sectarian in nature and the TTP is responsible for a majority of them.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2015.

On 22 September 2013, a twin suicide bombing took place at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which 127 people were killed and more than 250 injured. It was the deadliest attack on the Christian minority in the history of Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Wagah border suicide attack</span>

On 2 November 2014, a suicide bombing took place at Wagah border following the daily border ceremony in Pakistan. The attack was claimed by three rival militant groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lahore church bombings</span> 2015 church bombings in Lahore, Pakistan

On 15 March 2015, two explosions took place at Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church during Sunday service in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan. At least 15 people were killed and seventy were wounded in the attacks.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2016. Pakistan was the 10th most dangerous country by criminality index in 2016.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2017 include, in chronological order:

On 13 February 2017, a suicide bombing took place on the Mall Road in Lahore, Pakistan, where a group of chemists and pharmacists were holding a protest at Charing Cross in front of the Punjab provincial assembly. According to Punjab Police sources, 18 people were killed, including several police officials, and at least 87 were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sehwan suicide bombing</span> Suicide bombing in Pakistan

On 16 February 2017, a suicide bombing took place inside the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Sindh, Pakistan, where pilgrims were performing a Sufi ritual after the evening prayers. At least 90 people were killed and over 300 injured.

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is a codename of a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017. The operation is aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It is further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation is ongoing active participation from Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 operations have been carried out against terrorists so far. This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2019 include:

References

  1. ↑ Twin Attacks in Pakistan Kill Dozens, The New York Times , 2009-12-08
  2. ↑ At least 45 killed as twin bombs hit Lahore Archived 12 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine , Dawn , 2009-12-08
  3. ↑ Market bombs 'kill dozens' in Pakistan's Lahore, BBC, 2009-12-08
  4. ↑ Market Attack in Eastern Pakistan Kills at Least 30, The New York Times, 2009-12-07
  5. ↑ Dozens killed in Pakistan market blasts, CNN, 2009-12-07
  6. ↑ Lahore blasts caused by suicide bombers: police Archived 14 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine , Dawn , 2009-12-09
  7. ↑ Lahore blasts were suicide attacks Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine , Daily Times , 2009-12-09
  8. ↑ FBI team visits Lahore's Moon market blast site, Asian News International, 2009-12-10 Archived 15 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Pakistan attacks: Officials feed suspicion that India, US are to blame, The Christian Science Monitor , 2009-12-08

31°31′13″N74°17′30″E / 31.520139°N 74.291600°E / 31.520139; 74.291600

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.