Footage shows guard chasing a bomber during dargah attack that left 41 dead
Footage shows guard chasing a bomber during dargah attack that left 41 deadThe scenes of carnage at one of Pakistan's holiest shrines was caught on camera by closed circuit televisions which recorded the bombers in the final moments before they blew themselves up. The dramatic footage shows a security guard at the shrine in the eastern city of Lahore chasing after one of the bombers shortly before a huge blast which sent crowds of panicked worshippers fleeing in all directions.
Tragic: Security officials at the site of suicide bomb attacks, the Saint
Syed Ali bin Osman Al-Hajvery shrine in Lahore yesterday. pic/AFP
Suspicious manThe images broadcast by local television channels were obtained from close circuit television cameras installed at the Data Ganj Bakhsh shrine. A guard identified as Salim Raza, who was posted at an entry gate equipped with a scanner, detected a suspicious man clad in a green turban, white robes and a shawl and carrying a bag.
He ran after the bomber who seconds later detonated his explosives, engulfing the site in a huge cloud of white smoke and leaving the white marble floor splattered with blood, body parts and people's belongings.
"We were searching everyone walking through the gate," said Rao Fazal-ur Rehman, an administrator at the shrine.
"One bomber crossed the gate and a security guard ran to catch him because he looked suspicious but in the meantime he blew himself up," Rehman said. One of the two suicide bombers was identified yesterday, as Usman, a resident of Barki Hadyara, near Lahore.
Two alleged suicide bombers blew themselves up at the shrine on Thursday night, killing at least 41 people and injuring 170 others.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.u00a0
