Explosion On Pakistan-India Border Kills At Least 54

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 02.11.2014 19:37

Pakistani police say at least 54 people have been killed in a suicide bombing near a checkpoint on the country's eastern border with India.

The explosion hit close to a paramilitary checkpoint at the Wagah border crossing as hundreds of people were returning from a military parade on the outskirts of Lahore.

The death toll was likely to rise because more than 100 people were wounded, with some in critical condition.

Paramilitary troops were among the dead and wounded as well as women and children.

Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group's spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said in a statement to the media on November 2 that the attack was in retaliation for the Pakistani Army's offensive in the country's volatile tribal areas.

Based on reporting by Reuters, Express News, and AP