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The Jerusalem Post

Suicide blast in southwest Pakistan kills 57, injures over 50

 
 Police officers walk amid the rubble of a damaged building, after a suicide blast in Bara, on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan July 20, 2023. (photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)
Police officers walk amid the rubble of a damaged building, after a suicide blast in Bara, on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan July 20, 2023.
(photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast, which comes amid a surge in attacks claimed by militant groups in Pakistan.

At least 57 people were killed and more than 50 injured on Friday in a suicide attack on a religious gathering to mark the birthday of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, health officials and police said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast, which comes amid a surge in attacks claimed by militant groups in the west of the country, raising the stakes for security forces ahead of national elections scheduled for January next year.

"The bomber detonated himself near the vehicle of the Deputy Superintendent of Police," Deputy Inspector General of Police Munir Ahmed told Reuters, adding that blast took place near a mosque where people were gathering for a procession to mark Mohammad's birthday, which is a public holiday.

Islamist group denies attack

The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella group of various hardline Sunni Islamist groups, denied it had carried out the attack.

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 Police officers stand guard at the entrance of a building, after a suicide blast in Bara, on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan July 20, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)
Police officers stand guard at the entrance of a building, after a suicide blast in Bara, on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan July 20, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)

The casualties were being treated at hospitals in the nearby town of Mastung. Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti called the blast was a "very heinous act".

In July, more than 40 people were killed in a suicide bombing in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province at a religious political party's gathering.

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