ICC Note:

On Wednesday, an explosion in eastern Pakistan left at least six people dead: four army soldier, one air force member, and a civilian; 17 other people were left wounded. Investigators said that a severed head had been found at the site of the explosion, suggesting it was a suicide bombing. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, but the government declined to comment on the militant group’s statement.  

04/06/2017 Pakistan (New York Times) – At least six people were killed on Wednesday in an explosion in eastern Pakistan that targeted a team conducting the country’s first national census in nearly two decades, officials said.

The blast killed four army soldiers, one air force member and a civilian. At least 17 others were wounded.

Investigators said that a severed head had been found at the site of the explosion, suggesting that the act was a suicide bombing. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, but the government declined to comment on the militant group’s statement.

The explosion, on the outskirts of Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, will not disrupt the census, officials said.

The population count, the first since 1998, began last month, and 200,000 soldiers are providing security for about 120,000 government officials for the door-to-door collection of data. Unofficial figures estimate that Pakistan’s population is at least 180 million, but the number could be much higher.

One possible reason for the attack on the members of the census team was that they were a relatively easy target because they were in a neighborhood, rather than in a fortified area.

“The purpose of the attack apparently was to spread fear within the enumerators and other staff,” the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

Witnesses and officials said that the census team, along with security forces, had been gathering near the site of the blast during the past few days, before dispersing to neighborhoods.

…