Baitullah Mehsud claims responsibility for Lahore attack

Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud has claimed responsibility for Monday attack on a police academy in the Pakistani city of Lahore. At least 13 people, including seven cadets and two civilians were killed while over 100 others got injured.

"We wholeheartedly take responsibility for this attack and will carry out more such attacks in future," Mehsud, an al Qaeda-linked leader and the frontline tribal commander in Waziristan told Reuters by telephone.

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He also put it as a revenge for the drone attacks in northwestern Pakistan and warned United States to mount attack on Washington. Last week, the US, which is engaged in battle against the Talibani militants in the Pak-Afghan border, had announced a $5 million reward for information regarding the said militant.

Meanwhile, according to the reports of Pakistan-based DAWN news agency, as many as 40 suspects have been arrested from the Dinnur district in connection with the audacious Lahore attack. The three suspects who were arrested during the eight-hour long military operation were being sent for interrogation.

This was the second shocking terror incident within a month after the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, in which six Lankan cricketers were injured and six police men were killed. Up to 10 terrorists were said to have involved in that attack. However, police is still clueless about the perpetrators.

Interior Adviser Rehman Malik while talking to reporters on Tuesday said that the intelligence agency had prior reports regarding such attacks that terrorists could hit government establishments. At the same time, he didn’t rule out any possible foreign hand behind the attack.