巴基斯坦自杀炸弹袭击至少六人丧生

A suicide bomber has killed at least six people in eastern Pakistan, including several soldiers.

Authorities said that a van transporting census officials in Lahore, capital of the country's most populous Punjab province, was the target of Wednesday's attack. The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing.

The blast wounded around 20 people. Provincial Minister of Health, Khwaja Imran Nazir, said three of them were in "critical" condition.

“Doctors are operating upon them, and God willing they will recover. The rest of the patients are in a stable condition,” he added.

An eyewitness told reporters he was sitting at home across the street with his family when they heard the blast.

“We came running here and saw bodies of the victims scattered all over while those wounded were crying for help,” the man said.

Counterterrorism officials retrieved body parts of the suspected bomber and an investigation has been launched into the attack, according to provincial police.

Pakistan last month went ahead with its first national census in 19 years, deploying around 120,000 civilian enumerators and 200,000 Pakistani troops to support them. The massive exercise is due to be concluded by the end of May.

The Pakistani Taliban has stepped up attacks in Pakistan since the beginning of this year, killing scores of people.

Islamabad alleges militants are plotting the violence against the country from their sanctuaries inside neighboring Afghanistan, charges Kabul rejects.

巴基斯坦东部发生自杀炸弹袭击，至少六人丧生，其中包括几名军人。

有关当局说，在人口最密集的旁遮普省省会拉合尔，一辆运载人口普查官员的箱型车是星期三的袭击目标。巴基斯坦的塔利班宣称对这次袭击负责。

爆炸造成约20人受伤。拉合尔省卫生部长赫瓦贾·伊姆兰·纳齐尔说，其中3人有生命危险。他说：“医生正在对他们进行手术，上帝保佑他们能康复。其余患者情况比较稳定。”

一位目击者对记者说，他与家人一起坐在家里，突然听到街对面的爆炸声。

他说：“我们跑过来，看到到处都散落着的遇难者的尸体，受伤的人哭着求助。”

拉合尔警方表示，反恐官员找到了自杀炸弹杀手嫌疑人尸体的部分肢体，正在对袭击进行调查。

巴基斯坦3月开始了19年来第一次人口普查，派出了12万统计人员，并出动20万政府军协助。这次人口普查定于5月底结束。

巴基斯坦塔利班自今年初开始在巴基斯坦境内加大袭击力度，已造成大批人死亡。

巴基斯坦政府指称策划暴力攻击的激进分子藏身在邻国阿富汗。阿富汗否认这个指称。