22 Killed in Pakistan Suicide Blast

The new Iraq:

A suicide bomber blew himself up among police deployed outside a court in eastern Pakistan ahead of a planned anti-government protest Thursday, killing at least 22 people and wounding more than 70, officials and witnesses said.

The blast in front of Lahore High Court was the latest in a wave of attacks targeting politicians and security forces ahead of Feb. 18 parliamentary elections. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion will likely fall on militants linked to Taliban and al-Qaida.

It came as Scotland Yard investigators visited forensic laboratories elsewhere in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, to examine evidence in the assassination two weeks ago of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, a garrison city to the north.

"There were about 60 to 70 policemen on duty when a man rammed into our ranks and soon there was a huge explosion," said police officer Syed Imtiaz Hussain, who suffered wounds to his legs and groin. "I saw the bodies of other policemen burning. It was like hell."