16 February 2013

Bomb blast in southwest Pakistan kills at least 65

A bomb blast killed at least 65 people in the southwest city of Quetta on Saturday in what appeared to be the latest episode of sectarian violence against the country’s beleaguered Shiite Muslim minority.

The explosion occurred near a market crowded with shoppers in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood, local and federal government officials said. Authorities believe the blast was caused by a remote-controlled bomb planted in a water tanker.

Women and children were among the dead, police said, and at least 175 more people were injured, some of them critically. [Los Angeles Times] Read more