2011 Faisalabad bombing

The 2011 Faisalabad bombing occurred on 8 March 2011. At least 25 people were killed and over 127 wounded when a car bomb blast occurred in a compressed natural gas station in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Background
Faisalabad is the fourth-largest city in the country and an important industrial hub of the Punjab province; the attack was the first of its kind in the area, which usually remained safe from terrorist incidents. Faisalabad is the home of Pakistani textile industry. Pro-Taliban militant groups had been gaining strength in the area, which had previously witnessed sectarian violence.

Attack
The car bomb went off at about 10:30 am and left a 7-foot deep by 15-foot wide crater. According to local officials a Toyota Corolla packed with 40 kilograms of explosives was used in the attack.

The vicinity in which the attack took place was said to be a sensitive area and surrounded by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and military offices. A Pakistan International Airlines building and an ISI building were damaged in the bombing. The bomb caused several gas cylinders to explode and damaged several vehicles and buildings.

The station was reduced to a pile of bricks and twisted metal. Rescue officials used heavy machinery and cranes to remove rubble from the scene to search for survivors. Among the dead were an ISI officer and a school teacher.

Responsibility
A spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan stated that the bombing, which targeted an ISI building, was in retaliation for the killing of Omar Kundi, a Taliban commander, by special forces in Faisalabad in 2010.