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| Dozens dead as bomb explodes at Pakistan hospital | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A powerful bomb has exploded on the grounds of a government-run hospital in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 42 people and wounding dozens. | |
| The explosion occurred as mourners, mostly lawyers and journalists, gathered to accompany the body of Bilal Anwar Kasi, a prominent lawyer, who was shot and killed in the city earlier on Monday, an eyewitness said. | The explosion occurred as mourners, mostly lawyers and journalists, gathered to accompany the body of Bilal Anwar Kasi, a prominent lawyer, who was shot and killed in the city earlier on Monday, an eyewitness said. |
| More than 50 mourners were entering the emergency department of the hospital, accompanying Kasi's body, when the bomb went off, Faridullah, a journalist who was at the scene, told Reuters. | More than 50 mourners were entering the emergency department of the hospital, accompanying Kasi's body, when the bomb went off, Faridullah, a journalist who was at the scene, told Reuters. |
| Television footage from the site showed scenes of chaos, with panicked mourners fleeing through debris as smoke filled the corridors of the hospital's emergency ward. | Television footage from the site showed scenes of chaos, with panicked mourners fleeing through debris as smoke filled the corridors of the hospital's emergency ward. |
| Mr Kasi was shot and killed while on his way to the main court complex in Quetta, senior police official Nadeem Shah told Reuters, but it was unclear who was behind the shooting. | |
| Police cordoned off the hospital following the blast, restricting access to the area. | Police cordoned off the hospital following the blast, restricting access to the area. |
| Targeted killings have become increasingly common in Quetta, the capital of a province that has seen rising violence linked to a separatist insurgency as well as sectarian tensions and rising crime. | Targeted killings have become increasingly common in Quetta, the capital of a province that has seen rising violence linked to a separatist insurgency as well as sectarian tensions and rising crime. |
| No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, which struck at the gates of the building housing the emergency ward. | No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, which struck at the gates of the building housing the emergency ward. |
| Anwalullah Kakar, the government spokesman in southwestern Baluchistan province, said an investigation is underway. Sarfraz Bugti, the provincial interior minister, denounced the attack as an “act of terrorism.” | Anwalullah Kakar, the government spokesman in southwestern Baluchistan province, said an investigation is underway. Sarfraz Bugti, the provincial interior minister, denounced the attack as an “act of terrorism.” |
| Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast in Quetta and expressed his “deep grief and anguish over the loss of precious human lives” in the attack, in which several senior lawyers were also killed. | |
| “No one will be allowed to disturb the peace in the province that has been restored thanks to the countless sacrifices by the security forces, police and the people of Baluchistan,” he said in a statement. Sharif asked the local authorities to maintain utmost vigilance and beef up security in Quetta. | |
| A Pakistani news channel reported that one of its cameramen was also killed in the blast. | A Pakistani news channel reported that one of its cameramen was also killed in the blast. |
| Reuters with Associated Press | Reuters with Associated Press |