Bombings in two Pakistan cities killed 46 people Monday, as militants struck back in the wake of an army offensive against a Taliban stronghold in the northwest near the Afghan border.
Two synchronized bombs ripped through a market popular with women in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore about 9 p.m., igniting a massive fire that killed 36 people, authorities said. Hours earlier a suicide bomber killed 10 people outside a courthouse in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
About 100 people were wounded in the attacks in Lahore, which were timed to take place when the Moon Market was as its busiest. Authorities initially said both bombs were believed to be remote-controlled, but they later said a suicide bomber was suspected to have carried out at least one of them.
Most of the militant attacks in recent weeks have been directed at security forces, though several have targeted crowded public spaces like markets, apparently to create public anger and increase pressure on the government to call a halt to the offensive. More than 400 people have been killed since the beginning of October, including 105 in a Peshawar market frequented by women. That attack occurred while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was visiting Pakistan.
The Taliban generally claim responsibility for those attacks killing security officers, but they do not acknowledge carrying out the attacks targeting civilians. Government officials and security analysts say there is little doubt the militants are behind all the attacks.
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