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LAHORE, Jan 11: As the city slowly recovered from Thursday’s shock of the terror attack that left 24 people dead, police investigators and forensic experts on Friday made efforts to find a clue that could lead them to the network of the alleged suicide bomber.Police sealed off the blast site outside the Lahore High Court to collect more evidence.
DNA samples of the alleged bomber were sent to forensic labs in the Punjab University and the results of autopsy were expected on Saturday.
Dr Fakhir, who performed the autopsy at the city morgue on Friday, told Dawn that he was pessimistic about a positive identity of the bomber.
An inspection of the body by this reporter showed that only legs of the bomber remained fully intact while the torso and organs were obliterated and charred. Half of the head was also intact and bloated beyond recognition while the other half was partly reconstructed.
The man had a dark brown complexion and was, according to the doctor, in his early twenties. Dr Fakhir confirmed that samples had been taken from the man’s hair, blood, teeth and nails.
Senior police officials refused to comment on the progress made so far in the investigation.
Capital City Police Officer Malik Mohammed Iqbal said that a seven-member team had been constituted to investigate the case. The team was currently collecting evidence from the blast site.
He said that more than 25,000 policemen would now be on duty for Muharram.
US OFFICIAL: The Principal Officer of the US Consulate, Bryan Hunt, met Punjab IG Ahmed Naseem on Friday to offer his condolences over the Lahore bombing. He also offered assistance on behalf of the US government.
A news website quoted a police official as saying that the face of the suicide attacker was operated upon for plastic surgery in the King Edward Medical College. However, he said that police were not satisfied with the reconstructed face and had hired the services of an NCA student for preparing a sketch in accordance with the information collected from eyewitnesses.
