LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: At least three people were killed and 16 injured in an explosion in Lahore’s Johar Town area on Wednesday, with the top police official in the city saying the blast could be a suicide bombing.
Women and children were also among the injured, police and hospital officials said, as were some police officers who were manning a checkpoint set up next to the house of Hafiz Saeed, the founder of militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Inspector General Punjab police, Inam Ghani, told reporters at the blast cite that the counter terrorism department was currently examining the scene to determine whether the explosion was a suicide bombing or caused by an “explosives laden vehicle.”
Responding to a question about whether the target of the attack was Hafiz Saeed, Ghani said:
“There was a police picket [post] near the house of a high-value target. The car couldn’t go near the house because of the police check post.”
He did not name Saeed.
“Apparently what we see is that our law enforcement agencies are the target,” Ghani told reporters. “You can see our police officials are also wounded.”
Lashkar-e-Taiba was blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including foreigners and Americans.
Saeed, who now runs a LeT linked charity, Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), was sentenced in November to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of two charges of financing terrorism.
A JuD spokesman told Reuters Saeed was in prison and so not present at his house on Wednesday when the explosion occured.

“Sixteen injured people were brought to Jinnah Hospital [Lahore] emergency today and out of those three have expired,” Dr. Muhammad Yaha, Medical Superintendent, Jinnah Hospital, said. “Four others are in serious condition.”
TV footage showed the blast took place in a residential area and damaged nearby houses. 
“Three homes are damaged,” Commissioner Lahore Division, Capt (r ) Usman Younas, said.