18 KILLED IN PAK SUICIDE ATTACK
At least 18 people were killed and 24 others injured on Thursday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Sufi shrine packed with devotees in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province, police officials said. The attacker tried to enter the Dargah Fatehpur in the Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan and blew himself up when he was stopped by the police at the main entrance, deputy commissioner Asadullah Kakar told the media.
ISLAMABAD: At least 18 people were killed and dozens more injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Sufi shrine packed with devotees in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Thursday, officials said.
The bomber, who tried to enter the Pir Rakhel Shah shrine at Fatehpur town of Jhal Magsi district, detonated his explosives when he was stopped by police at the entrance, deputy commissioner Asadullah Kakar said.
A police constable was among the 18 dead, Kakar said. He was killed while trying to stop the bomber.
No group claimed responsibility for the blast. Several terror groups are active in resourcerich Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
The shrine, which is visited by Sunnis and Shias, was crowded as many had gathered for an Urs celebration. Officials said they feared the death toll could rise.
A lot of people also visit the shrine on Thursdays to participate in ‘dhamaal’ – a devotional dance – which was underway at the time of the attack. Balochistan home minister Sarfaraz Bugti told Dawn News the toll would have been higher if the bomber had been able to enter the shrine.
This was the second major attack on a Sufi shrine in Pakistan this year. In February, more than 80 people were killed when a suicide bomber targeted the famous shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sindh.