Two suicide bombers left at least 39 people dead and injured almost a hundred in the city of Lahore in Pakistan according to police officers. Six of the dead were army personnel.

The first explosion occurred near the RA Bazaar, in an area where several army and security agencies have facilities.  The second happened near the Saddar roundabout. The suicide bombers targeted military convoys, approaching on foot and detonating their explosives 15 to 20 seconds apart, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah said on local television.

There have been five blasts this week alone, including a car bomb suicide attack on a police intelligence building in Lahore on Monday that killed 13 people, and a shooting and bombing at a U.S.-based aid agency that killed 6 in the northwest. The attacks this week seemed a direct challenge to the authority and effectiveness of the military, which has sought to move against militants in recent months in Pakistan’s mountainous and often lawless areas near the border with Afghanistan.

(photo from bbc news)