Terrorism Strikes Pakistan: Deadly Blasts, 115 Martyrs

Local Editor

Terrorism continues to strike in Pakistan.

In one of the deadliest days to hit the nation in years, a string of bombings including a twin suicide attack on a snooker hall has left 115 people martyrs.

At least 82 people were martyred and 121 wounded Thursday when two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the crowded club in an area of the southwestern city of Quetta, a police officer said.
It was one of the worst single attacks ever.
Earlier Thursday, a bomb ripped through a security forces' vehicle in a crowded part of Quetta, killing 11 people and wounding dozens more.

And in a third incident, a bomb exploded at a religious gathering in the northwestern Swat valley, martyring 22 people and wounding more than 80.
At the snooker club the first suicide bomber struck inside the building, then 10 minutes later an attacker in a car outside blew himself up as police, media workers and rescue teams rushed to the site, said officer Mir Zubair Mahmoud.
"The death toll has risen to 81 so far," Mahmoud told a news conference, putting the number of wounded at 121.
"Both attacks were carried out by suicide bombers and the death toll could rise further," he added.
Mahmoud said the dead also included nine police personnel and a local television camera man. Several rescue workers were also killed in the attacks, he said.
According to the Human Rights Watch, 2012 was the deadliest year on record for Shiites in Pakistan.
The organization late Thursday called the government's failure to protect the community, which accounts for some 20 percent of the population, "reprehensible and amounts to complicity in the barbaric slaughter of Pakistani citizens".

The bombings damaged several shops and nearby buildings. At least four vehicles of local ambulance service were destroyed and the blast site was also littered with the belongings of the victims.

People were seen wailing and crying beside the bodies lying on the ground, an Agence France Presse photographer said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Quetta is the capital of the province of Baluchistan, one of the most deprived parts of Pakistan but rich in natural gas and mineral deposits on the Afghan and Iranian borders.


Source: News agencies, Edited by moqawama.org