Pakistan bombing during religious celebration kills at least 51 people

Sarah Gambles
·1 min read
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A man comforts another mourning for his relative, who was killed in the bomb explosion, at a hospital, in Quetta, Pakistan, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. A powerful bomb exploded at a rally celebrating the birthday of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in southwest Pakistan on Friday, killing multiple people and wounding dozens of others, police and a government official said.

A bomb killed at least 52 people during a religious gathering celebrating the Islamic Prophet Muhammad in Pakistan on Friday.

“Due to the power of the explosion, several people gathered there died instantly, and many others suffered injuries,” Javed Lehri, a local police officer, told The New York Times.

What we know about the bombing in Pakistan

Authorities say the bombing in the southwestern province of Balochistan was a suicide attack and “targeted a procession of hundreds of people who had gathered for Eid Milad un-Nabi,” the Times reported. At least 70 others were wounded from the blast.

“The bomber detonated himself near a police vehicle near Madina Mosque where people were gathering for a procession,” senior police official Munir Ahmed told Reuters.

Has any group claimed responsibility for attacks in Pakistan?

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but the Pakistani Taliban denied responsibility. The group known as Islamic State Khorasan has claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in the area before and is active in the region, according to CBS News.

Shortly after the attack, a bomb went off in the neighboring northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mosque and killed at least five people — the blast also caused the roof to collapse, trapping around 30 to 40 people inside, per Reuters.