BALUCHISTAN, Pakistan
The death toll from a suspected suicide bomb blast at a procession to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province has climbed to 52, officials and media reports say.
The powerful bomb exploded on
Friday near a mosque in Mastung district of Balochistan, wounding dozens of
others, including many in a critical condition, local officials said.
The Reuters news agency,
quoting Abdul Rasheed, a district health official, said at least 52 people had
died in the blast and 58 others were wounded.
Rasheed said the toll could
further rise as many people were in a serious condition.
“It seems a suicide attack”
senior local police officer Javed Lehri, adding that the bomber blew himself up
near the vehicle of Deputy Superintendent of Police Nawaz Gishkori.
Balochistan’s government
administrator Atta Ullah said a senior police officer, Mohammad Nawaz, was
among the dead. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, he said.
The country’s interior ministry confirmed a blast carried out by “terrorist elements” in Balochistan.
“The attack on innocent people
who came to participate in the procession of Eid Milad-un-Nabi is a very
heinous act,” it said in a statement, referring to the prophet’s birthday.
No group has claimed
responsibility for the attack yet.
The Pakistani Taliban, known
as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), quickly distanced itself from the attack.
The TTP is a separate group
but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in neighbouring
Afghanistan in August 2021. Last year, the group broke a ceasefire with the
government which led to a resurgence of its deadly attacks across the country.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said
the TTP, which had been carrying out attacks in the area, has denied it was
involved.
“And that of course would
raise alarm bells because the area has seen the presence of Islamic State [ISIL
or ISIS] elements,” he said.
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