The attack razed the emergency response building near the provincial police headquarters and damaged the ISI office. Pakistani media, however, said the attack could have been an attempt to free Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who was to be produced before a local court not far from the attack scene. Saeed has been under house arrest after 26/11.

‘‘This is a Taliban reprisal after their defeat in Swat and tribal areas,’’ interior minister Rehman Malik said. BLOODY SURGE Mar 30, 2009 | Police academy stormed in Lahore. 8 recruits killed. Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility

Mar 27 | Suicide bomber attacks a packed mosque near northwestern town of Jamrud, killing 50 people

Mar 3 | Gunmen attack Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, killing 8 people, and wounding 7 team members 3 attackers flee, 4 suspects held Islamabad: Rescuers clambered over piles of concrete and dragged several semi-conscious cops in blood-stained uniforms at the site of Wednesday’s suicide attack in Pakistan. The explosion sheared the walls off several buildings on Mall Road in Lahore’s tony Civil Lines area.

A police officer said three assailants managed to slip away and that four suspects were rounded up for questioning. ‘‘The attackers fired and threw grenades before a van packed with explosives blew up outside the emergency response building,’’ the officer said.

‘‘The militants were trying to create panic among people through such acts of barbarism, but they will not be allowed to succeed,’’ President Asif Ali Zardari said. He said such attacks were the dying kicks of the militants on the run. The attack came as Pakistani troops claimed to have almost routed the Taliban in Swat.

Wednesday’s attack was the third major strike in Lahore this year. In March, a group of gunmen attacked Sri Lankan cricket team, killing seven people and wounding several players. Earlier, gunmen raided a police academy on the city’s outskirts, leaving at least 12 people dead during an eighthour standoff.