LAHORE, Pakistan — Two suicide bombers killed 43 people in near-simultaneous blasts Friday, the fourth major attack in Pakistan this week and a clear sign that militants have the power to strike targets despite months of army offensives and U.S. missile strikes.
The twin bombings, which also wounded about 100 people, raised fears of a new wave of attacks by Islamic militants. With no explanation of why the violence is surging now or how long it could last, Pakistanis have been left to guess at how bloody the situation could get.
“This is an attack against our people, our country,” said senior Lahore official Sajjad Bhutta, calling on law enforcement agencies to improve their intelligence networks.
Underscoring the widespread fear, a series of small explosions injured at least three people and sparked panic in another Lahore neighborhood late Friday. Police officials said the five low-intensity blasts apparently resulted from loose explosives scattered through the residential area of Iqbal Town.
And today, officials say, at least seven people have been killed in a suicide car bombing in northwestern Pakistan.
Army spokesman Maj. Mushtaq Khan says the attacker detonated the car bomb near a security checkpoint in the Swat district.
Police official Mohammed Anfal said 26 people were wounded in the attack.
Friday’s two suicide bombers, who were on foot, set off their explosives within seconds of each other near two trucks carrying soldiers on patrol in RA Bazaar, a residential and commercial neighborhood with numerous military buildings.
It was the second major attack in the eastern city of Lahore this week.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda, which have been fighting to destabilize the U.S.-allied Islamabad government.
They launched a bloody wave of bombings last fall across Pakistan, leaving 600 people dead in near-daily attacks done in apparent retaliation for an army offensive against the insurgents’ main stronghold, in the tribal region of South Waziristan along the Afghan border.
The government offensive was seen as fairly effective, forcing many Taliban leaders to flee and reducing the area where the insurgents could operate openly, and the insurgent attacks had slowed early this year.
