An explosion at the Sufi shrine of Data Darbar in Lahore, Pakistan has killed five and wounded 24 people, according to police. The blast reportedly targeted security forces guarding the shrine.
The blast targeted a van carrying the Elite Force of Punjab Police, according to Pakistani outlet The News International. Police were the target of the bombing, Lahore police chief Ghazanfar Ali confirmed, adding that hundreds of worshipers were inside and outside the shrine at the time of the attack.
The dead included three policemen, a security guard, and a citizen, according to Deputy Inspector General Operation Lahore Ashfaq Ahmed Khan.
Khan confirmed that Elite Commandos tasked with guarding the shrine were the intended targets of the bomb, though the exact nature of the explosion is not yet known.
Rescue teams have responded to the explosion and the injured have been taken to a nearby hospital.
The shrine was targeted in a 2010 suicide attack that killed over 40 people and has since been guarded by heavy security. The explosion took place on the second day of Ramadan.
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