Lahore bomb blast: Security agencies start tracing suspects through geofencing

LAHORE: The security agencies have started conducting geofencing of Lahore’s Johar Town area to detect the suspects behind the powerful bomb blast today, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

By using the geofencing technology, the security agencies were collected data including suspicious telephone calls and the location of the persons who parked the vehicle or motorcycle near the bombing site in Johar Town, sources told ARY News.

The investigators confirmed that the terrorists had completed rekey of the whole area before planting the explosive device in a vehicle.

According to the initial investigation report, 15 to 20 kilograms of explosive material was used in the bomb which was detonated through a remote-controlled device. It was revealed that foreign-made explosive material packed with ball bearings, nails and other objects.

The improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a vehicle that was detonated with remote control, the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) observed. The blast left a crater eight-foot deep and three-foot across.

Read: Lahore blast: CCTV footage shows man parking car that ‘exploded’

Moreover, the powerful bomb explosion affected 100 square feet of the residential area that shattered the windowpanes of adjoining buildings and vehicles.

Earlier in the day, at least three people, including a six-year-old boy, lost their lives while 23 others got injured in a bomb blast outside a house in Lahore’s Johar Town area.

Speaking to the media at the site of the blast, Punjab IG Inam Ghani confirmed that it was a bomb blast. “A bomb planted in a car went off. The vehicle cannot reach its target due to police barriers,” he said. “The police were the target of the bomb blast.”

The provincial police chief said ball-bearings driven by the blast hit the injured, adding the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) had previously traced such cases and will also investigate this incident thoroughly.

An eyewitness claimed some explosive material planted on a motorcycle went off.

A rickshaw and motorcycles parked nearby were completely destroyed by the blast, the police said. The site of the blast has been cordoned off with a bomb disposal squad collecting evidence.