Pak authorities identify Afghan national as suicide bomber at Lahore shrine blast

Pakistani authorities on Tuesday identified an Afghan national as the suicide bomber who triggered a blast outside a revered Sufi shrine here that killed 13 people, including five police personnel, on May 8.

Police said Sadiqullah Momand entered Pakistan through Torkham area on May 6 and blew himself up near a police van at the shrine of Ali Hajvari commonly known as Data Darbar.

Police also claim to have arrested one named Mohsin Khan, who is the main facilitator of the terror attack.

Thirteen people, including five police personnel, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Data Darbar, the largest Sufi shrine in South Asia.

A CCTV footage showed a teenage boy wearing black shalwar kameez and a suicide vest coming closer to the vehicle of an elite police force before blowing himself up.

Police also confirmed that Hizbul Ahrar had claimed responsibility for sending the teenage suicide bomber to the shrine.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab has examined the records of three terror groups, including the Ghazi Force and Jamaatul Ahrar.

Hizbul Ahrar is a splinter group of Jamaatul Ahrar headed by Muqarram Shah from Afghanistan. It separated from Jamaatul Ahrar due to internal rifts.

Police said that the blast facilitator, Mohsin Khan moved to Lahore a couple of weeks before the blast and rented a house at Bhati Gate, a residential area near the shrine.

He received the suicide bomber Momand on May 6 and took him to his target on May 8.

Another suspect identified as Tayabullah is at large.