Death toll rises to 24 in Pakistan shrine suicide bombing

Death toll rises to 24 in Pakistan shrine suicide bombing
Sat Oct 7, 2017 13:20:12

The death toll from a suicide bombing at a Shia shrine in the country's southwest increased to 24 after four victims died at a hospital overnight, police said Saturday.

The bomber detonated his explosives vest when he was stopped for a routine search by a police officer guarding the shrine. Five children, a woman and two police officers were among those killed.

The ISIS group claimed responsibility for the attack. The ISIS has claimed responsibility for several past attacks in Baluchistan, which has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists and separatists demanding more autonomy and a greater share in the region's natural resources of oil and gas.

Sunni extremists and the ISIS perceive minority Shia as apostates and have carried out many such attacks across the country.

At least 75 Shia were killed in twin bombings at a market in Parachinar in the country's northwest In June this year. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a sectarian Sunni extremist group, claimed responsibility.

In February, an ISIS group suicide bomber struck inside a famed Sufi shrine in southern Sindh province, killing 88 worshippes engaged in 'Dhamal,' a devotional dance.

Also on Saturday in Baluchistan, at least 13 people were killed and 20 others wounded when a passenger van collided head on with a bus on a highway near the provincial capital of Quetta.

Muqeem Baig, a spokesman for Quetta's main hospital, said victims were brought to the hospital from the accident site some 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the city. Such accidents are common in Pakistan, where motorists often disregard traffic rules and safety standards.

 

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