Three persons were killed and 10 others, including a special court judge, were injured in a bomb blast in the eastern Pakistani city of Multan on Friday.
The blast took place minutes before judge Bashir Ahmed Bhatati was about to deliver his verdict in a terrorism case. Those killed included two policemen guarding him.
The bomb, which had a timer device was attached to a cycle and exploded while Bhatti was heading to court in his car to deliver the judgment, local police officer Mirza Muhammad Ali said.
Two police guards and the driver of the judge, who were injured in the blast, later died in hospital.
Police believe that Bhatti was the main target of the blast. This is the second attack on a judge in Pakistan in less than a month. One judge and 14 others were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself in court room the south western city of Quetta on February 17.
"The judge was rushed to the hospital in a serious condition and was said to be stable now after an operation during which a metallic object was removed from his body," hospital sources said.
The bomb disposal squad has been called in to check the explosive used in the blast, Ali said.
The blast also took place hours after the detention of Mullah Obaidullah, the number two leader of Taliban and a close aide of the outfits Chief Mullah Omar.
Pakistan security officials have blamed most of the recent suicide bomb blasts on pro-Taliban outfits from the tribal Waziristan belt where Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban are well entrenched.
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