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Series of small bombs strikes eastern Pakistan
By BABAR DOGAR,Associated Press Writer AP - 2 hours 2 minutes ago
LAHORE, Pakistan - Five small bombs exploded outside two theaters in a major eastern Pakistan city late Friday, but there were no casualties, police and other officials said.
The explosions spurred panic in Lahore, a cultural hub that has largely escaped the scores of suicide and other bomb attacks that have bedeviled Pakistan in the past two years.
Police investigator Mushtaq Sukhera said religious extremists were behind these and other similar attacks.
"The group (of extremists) believes that these places are centers of anti-Islamic activities and spread obscenity," he said, declining to identify the group. "We have enough evidence from our investigation of previous such attacks."
The first four blasts occurred near the Al-Falah Theater, which also is close to the Punjab provincial assembly building, senior police official Haider Ashraf said. He described them as "locally made, low-intensity timed devices."
The fifth explosion occurred outside another theater almost 2 miles (3 kilometers) away.
"It was yet another low-intensity bomb blast outside Tamaseel Theater," police official Chaudhry Mohammad Shafiq said.
Lahore's top district government official Sajjad Ahmed Bhutta said "it seems to be an attempt to hurt the cultural activities of the city."
Police said there were no casualties.
Most of the attacks in Pakistan in recent years have occurred in its northwest regions near Afghanistan where al-Qaida and Taliban militants have strongholds and where the military is staging offensives.
However, Lahore, a city near the border with India, has not entirely escaped the violence. Just last month, a bomb-rigged truck exploded in a heavily guarded neighborhood that is home to many government officials, killing one person.
In addition, in the past three months, small explosions have occurred outside a cultural complex and near juice shops known to be favorite gathering spots for young couples.
Television footage of the latest blasts showed ambulances rushing to the scene and people running through the area. At least one small blast was caught on camera, apparently occurring at the main gate of the Al-Falah theater.
Mian Nadeem, who works in an office of a private company nearby, said he rushed downstairs after hearing the first explosion near al-Falah.
"Then, there were three more blasts, one after the other," he said. "Everybody ran in frenzy. It was panic everywhere."
Witness Sultan Ahmed said artists were rehearsing inside the second theater when the last bomb exploded.
"They all ran through the parking area near the back gate," Ahmed said.
___
Associated Press Writer Asif Shahzad in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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