News Service from House Harris

ASIA: Three bombs explode in Lahore

LAHORE, Pakistan, Nov 23 AFP - Three bombs have exploded in a cultural centre in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, wounding two people.

Two of the bombs went off during a concert in the centre late Saturday, said Lahore police official Mohammad Akram, adding that two people were wounded.

"Two bombs exploded one after the other in a cultural centre located near the Khadafi stadium," he said, referring to the biggest sports stadium in the city of some 10 million people.

Police have cordoned off the site of the blasts and evacuated the area.

The third blast occurred at the entrance to the venue after it had been evacuated, said another Lahore police official, Yasin Khan. All three were of low intensity.

Pakistan has been battling an Islamist insurgency led by al-Qaeda and Taliban militants since former president Pervez Musharraf joined the US-led war on terror in 2001, but the violence has soared since the start of 2007.

AFP apm =0A