By IANS
Lahore : At least 13 people were killed and many injured here Thursday in a powerful blast outside the high court building, the second major terror attack to rock Pakistan in less than two weeks.
Television channels reported that the toll could go up. Mangled cars and blood lay spattered around the blast site near the busy Mall Road area.
Initial reports said that several policemen and lawyers were among the dead. The police immediately blocked all roads leading to the building.
On Dec 27, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in the garrison town of Rawalpindi in a suicide bomb attack soon after addressing an election rally.
DPA adds that ambulances and other emergency vehicles rushed to the scene following the blast, which occurred around 11.40 a.m., just before a protest rally was planned at the High Court by local lawyers.
DawnNews reported that police officers who had gathered outside the court building ahead of the protests appeared to be the intended target.