Blast rocks city in northwest Pakistan

Risingbd Desk: An explosion apparently targeting a mosque in the Pakistani city of Parachinar, in the remote northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan, killed at least 13 people and wounded 40, local officials said.

It is suspected to be a remote controlled device planted in a vehicle, Ikramullah Khan, a political agent for Kurram agency, told a news agency, adding that at least five wounded were in critical condition.

Television footage from the scene showed damaged buildings in a busy marketplace, with crowds gathered around the site. Local officials said the blast took place near the entrance to a Shia mosque.

Mumtaz Hussain, a doctor at the local Agency Headquarters Hospital, said five bodies, including a woman and two children, and more than three dozen wounded had been brought to the hospital and an appeal had been issued for blood donors.

Parachinar is the capital of the Kurram tribal area in Pakistan's northwest, located about 275km west of the capital Islamabad. The district has seen several blasts targeting its sizeable Shia Muslim minority.

In January, at least 25 people were killed and 87 wounded when a bomb went off in a busy vegetable market in Parachinar.

Last month, more than 70 people were killed and dozens wounded in an attack on a crowded Sufi shrine in southern Pakistan.

Source: Agencies




Risingbd/Mar 31, 2017/Mukul