Suicide car blast in Lahore kills 17

after the blast 

A powerful car bomb blast went off outside an emergency police service office on Lahore's Mall road on Wednesday, killing 17 people and wounding 250 others, quoted police and rescue officials as saying.District Coordination Officer Lahore Sajjad Bhutta confirmed it was a suicide car bomb blast.Rescue teams were shifting the injured to nearby hospitals, sources said.The blast also caused damage to buildings in the vicinity, police said.'It was a strong blast. It damaged several buildings and cars and shattered widows,' said police spokesman Nayyab Haider.Officials say there is a chance the device had been planted inside a car parked between Rescue 15 building and offices of intelligence agencies.There was no claim of responsibility.Gunshots were heard immediately after the blast but it was not clear who was firing, the witness said.A big cloud of white smoke rose over the city after the blast.The same month, gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying members of the Sri Lankan national cricket team on their way to a stadium for a match. The well-coordinated attack wounded at least eight members of the team and killed a driver and six Pakistani police officers. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the blast comes as Pakistan's army continues its campiagn against Taliban fighters in the country's northwestern Swat region.