Suicide attack kills 9 in Lahore

Aftermath of the suicide attack in Lahore. AFP photo.

The Taliban have restarted its terror campaign in Pakistan's cities. A suicide bomber struck in Lahore, just one day after a bomb killed 14 on an Air Force bus in Peshawar.

Nine Pakistanis, including five policemen, were killed and more than 35 were wounded after a suicide bomber struck during Pakistan' s Independence Day celebration in the city of Lahore in Punjab province. The bomber is believed to have driven a motorcycle and was targeting police van.

The attack occurred the same day the Taliban warned Pakistanis to keep away from Independence Day celebrations, Daily Times reported. Taliban spokesman Haji Muslim Khan told a Pakistani television station the independence day festivities are potential targets.

The Taliban have threatened to reinitiate suicide and bombing attacks throughout Pakistan if the government did not cease military operations in Swat and Bajaur. Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud had previously threatened wage “jihad” and turn the provinces of Sindh and Punjab “into a furnace” if the operations did not cease. Pakistan's Interior Ministry fears further attacks are likely.

In Early July, the Taliban conducted two suicide attacks in Pakistan's major city. A suicide bomber killed 19 Pakistanis, including 15 policemen, in an attack outside a police station in Islamabad near the radical Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque. More than 40 Pakistanis were reported wounded.

The next day, a string of bombings killed one Pakistani and wounded more than 50 in the southern city of Karachi. The bombings occurred just as anti-Taliban graffiti began appearing in Pakistan's largest city.