Pakistan crackdown after suicide attack claimed by Islamic State

Pakistani security forces killed dozens of suspected militants on Friday, a day after Islamic State (IS) claimed a suicide bombing that killed more than 80 people at a Sufi shrine in the latest of a series of bloody attacks across the country.

The bombing at the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in southern Sindh province was Pakistan’s deadliest attack in two years, killing at least 83 people and underlining the threat of militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban and IS.

With authorities facing angry criticism for failing to tighten security before the bomber struck, analysts warned that the wave of violence pointed to a major escalation in Islamist militants’ attempts to destabilize the region. “This is a virtual declaration of war against the state of Pakistan,” said analyst Imtiaz Gul.

With pressure growing for action, Pakistan demanded that neighboring Afghanistan hand over 76 “terrorists” it said were sheltering over the border.

The bombings over five days have hit all four of Pakistan’s provinces and two major cities, killing nearly 100 people and shaking a nascent sense that the worst of the country’s militant violence may be in the past. A series of military operations against insurgent groups operating in Pakistan had encouraged hopes that their leaders were scattered.

“But this has led to a degree of complacency within our civil-military leadership that perhaps they have completely destroyed these elements, or broken their back,” Gul said.