At least 52 people were killed and more than 50 injured on Friday in a suicide attack on a religious gathering to mark the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, Media reports said.
“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.
The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella group of various hardline Sunni Islamist groups, denied it had carried out the attack.
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”.
