Suicide blast at Data Darbar Lahore kills 10

Lahore: A suicide blast at Data Darbar in Lahore killed at least 10 people and injured 24 on Wednesday.

Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast that occurred near the entrance gate for female visitors.

The emergency room at the Mayo Hospital in Lahore was crowded with the wounded, and people searching for loved ones, AFP reported.

The shrine has been targeted previously, in a 2010 suicide attack which killed more than 40 people.

Since then the area has been increasingly hemmed in by heavy security, with visitors forced to pass through several layers of screening before they can enter the complex.

Senior police official Muhammad Ashfaq told a press conference that the security personnel at the shrine were targeted.

Three police officials, two security guards and five civilians including a child were among the dead, Punjab province chief minister Usman Buzdar said.