One Pakistan suicide attacker identified

One of the suicide attackers who blew himself up at the Data Darbar shrine in Punjab's provincial capital, killing 45 people and injuring 180 others, was today identified as a resident of a Pakistani village located on the outskirts of Lahore.

Police said Rafiq alias Usman, aged about 20, was a resident of Hadyara village, which is located on the outskirts of Lahore and close to the border with India.

"His family has identified him," a police officer told PTI.

The officer said Rafiq’s elder brother was serving in the army.

"We are collecting other details about Rafiq. He was a student at a seminary and we are investigating whether he had gone to Waziristan for training," the officer said.

Operatives of intelligences agencies took members of Rafiq's family and his neighbours at Hadyara into custody.

Geo News channel quoted its sources as saying that Rafiq was the suicide bomber who blew himself up in the basement of the Data Darbar shrine late last night.

The second bomber detonated his suicide vest in the crowded courtyard upstairs.

Forty-five people were killed and nearly 180 injured in the attack.

Rafiq's brothers Sharif and Latif recognised him in footage taken from CCTV cameras at Data Darbar, Geo News reported.

The brothers also told police that Usman had visited Waziristan in the recent past.

At his last meeting with his family, Usman had said he was going on a "mission", the channel reported.

Meanwhile, police have taken over two dozen suspects into custody from different parts of Lahore during a search operation.

The blasts occurred late last night in quick succession at the Data Darbar shrine of Sufi saint Syed Abul Hassan bin Usman bin Ali al-Hajweri revered by millions of people.

Though initial reports had said the shrine was targeted by three suicide attackers, SSP Chaudhry Shafiq Ahmed today stated that two bombers were involved in the assault.

One blew himself up in the shrine's courtyard while another detonated his explosive vest in the basement in an area where people perform ablutions.