SourceFrames's video: Lahore Bomb Blast - Data Darbar Dargah Parkistan

At least five people have been killed in an explosion outside a major Sufi Muslim shrine in the Pakistani city of Lahore, officials said. Many are feared injured, including several policemen. Authorities said the blast appeared to have targeted a police vehicle. The explosion occurred near the Data Darbar Sufi shrine, one of the oldest Muslim shrines in South Asia. So far, no group has said it carried out the attack. The bloodshed comes as Muslim-majority Pakistan marks the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. A security operation is still under way in the area, with heavy police presence at the blast site. Lahore's Data Darbar shrine In pictures: Muslims mark first day of Ramadan According to Radio Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly denounced Wednesday's blast and urged authorities to provide the best possible medical care for those injured. The Data Darbar Sufi shrine is located inside the ancient Walled City in Lahore, Pakistan's second-biggest city, and is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. Sufism is a form of Islamic mysticism that exists across the Islamic world, and includes both Sunnis and Shias. Its followers in Pakistan have been attacked by militants in the past. Since a Taliban attack on a Peshawar school killed 141 in 2014, Pakistan has attempted to crack down on extremism. While security has improved, the country still grapples with militant groups. In 2016, at least 72 people were killed in Lahore in a bombing targeting Christians on Easter Sunday. 8 Dead In Blast Near Sufi Shrine In Lahore; We Were Targets, Says Police தமிழில் படிக்கবাংলায় পড়ুন Blast in Lahore: Data Darbar shrine has been targeted previously, in a 2010 suicide attack that killed more than 40 people, and is guarded by heavy security. World | Agencies | Updated: May 08, 2019 12:08 IST by TaboolaSponsored LinksSponsored Say good-bye to bugs/roaches/mosquitoes in your house! (Electric Pest Reject) Indians born before 1967 are now eligible to test hearing aids (Hearing Aid Trial) SHARE EMAIL PRINT 1 COMMENTS Play Video 42s Blast At One Of Pakistan's Oldest And Most Popular Sufi Shrines State TV aired footage showing damaged vehicles and emergency personnel at the scene LAHORE: HIGHLIGHTS The blast comes as Pakistan marks the fasting month of Ramadan Data Darbar is one of Pakistan's oldest and most popular Sufi shrines A suicide attack at Data Darbar in 2010 had killed more than 40 people A blast at one of Pakistan's oldest and most popular Sufi shrines killed at least eight people, news agency Press Trust of India reported, and wounded 24 in the eastern city of Lahore Wednesday, police said, as the country marks the fasting month of Ramadan. Police have said they are still investigating the nature of the blast, which occurred near the entrance gate for female visitors to the 11th-century Data Darbar shrine, one of the largest Sufi shrines in South Asia. Husks of vehicles littered the pavement near the shrine as first responders rushed to the scene while armed security forces fanned out in the area. The shrine has long been home to colourful Sufi festivals and a prime destination for the country's myriad Muslim sects, making it a soft target for terrorist attacks. It has been targeted previously, in a 2010 suicide attack which killed more than 40 people. Since then the area has been increasingly hemmed in by heavy security, with visitors forced to pass through several layers of screening before they can enter the complex. Sufi worshippers, who follow a mystical strain of Islam, have frequently been the target of bloody attacks in Pakistan by Islamist terrorists -- including the Islamic State group -- who consider Sufi beliefs and rituals at the graves of Muslim saints as heresy. Senior police official Muhammad Ashfaq told a press conference that the security personnel at the shrine were targeted, but stressed that the cause of the blast remains under investigation. Three police officials, a security guard and a civilian were killed, he added. Provincial health minister Yasmin Rashid confirmed the toll. The blast may have been "a suicide attack" on a security vehicle, added police official Muhammad Kashif. Pakistan's push against extremism was stepped up after the country's deadliest ever attack, an assault on a school in Peshawar in 2014 that left more than 150 people dead -- mostly children. Since then, security has dramatically improved but terrorists retain the ability to carry out dramatic attacks. Major urban centres such as Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city and the provincial capital of its wealthiest province, Punjab, are not immune. An attack in the city in March last year left nine people dead, while a major blast targeting Christians celebrating Easter in a park in 2016 killed more than 70 people.