"It was a suicide attack and the target was the bus which was carrying the Air Force officials," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP. Police found the bomber's severed head while other pieces of his body were stuck to the exterior of the mangled bus at the site of the attack in central Punjab, witnesses said.
More than 40 people, including six children in the nearby passing school van, were wounded in the bombing, the District Police Officer Waseem Ahmed said. The death toll was feared to rise as some of the injured were in critical condition.
APP ADDS: Doctors from District Headquarters have also been called to assist the medical teams. Security forces have cordoned off the area while bomb disposal squad has collected samples from the site. District Nazim Sargodha and Regional Police Officer (RPO) Hamad Mukhtar Gondal also rushed to the spot.