Bomb Attacks Kill 43 People In Pakistan As British Premier Pledges Support To Fight Extremism
Source: Associated Press
The Associated Press and Riaz Khan, The Associated Press Jun 30, 2013 07:09:00 AM
QUETTA, Pakistan – Bombings killed at least 43 people in three different areas of Pakistan on Sunday, just as Britain’s prime minister was in the capital pledging to help to fight extremism.
In the deadliest of the attacks, twin blasts near a Shiite Muslim mosque in Quetta, the capital of southwest Baluchistan province, killed at least 22 people, including two women and several minors, and wounded 65 others, said senior police officer Ishtiaq Ahmed.
Initial reports indicated a hand grenade the first blast, forcing people to run in the direction of the mosque, where a suicide bomber detonated his explosives, said another police officer, Fayaz Sumbal said. Radical Sunni Muslims have stepped up attacks in the past two years against minority Shiites, whom they consider to be heretics.
Local TV video showed ambulances rushing victims to the hospital and wheeling them inside on stretchers. Some of the bodies were covered with white sheets. Relatives of the victims frantically entered the emergency room to inquire about their loved ones. Security forces cordoned off the area of the attack.
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