…As Afghan official says insurgents kill 11 soldiers in west***
At least 133 people, including a top nationalist leader, were killed and over 200 others injured in a powerful suicide blast and a targeted attack on separate election rallies in Pakistan on Friday.
The twin blasts are the deadliest in a series of assaults on candidates ahead of the July 25 polls in Pakistan. The United Nations and several world leaders have strongly condemned the attack on political candidates in Pakistan
Militants targeted a gathering of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leader Siraj Raisani in Mastung area in the troubled Balochistan province.
“Raisani succumbed to wounds while he was being shifted to Quetta,” District Police Officer Mohammad Ayub Achakzai said.
Raisani is the brother of former Chief Minister of Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raisani.
The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack that left 128 people dead, police officials said.
The outfit announced the claim through its Aamaq news agency without providing further details.
At least 128 people, including Raisani, were killed in the deadly blast, police officials said.
Local media confirmed the death toll, quoting Balochistan’s Home Minister Agha Umar Bangalzai.
“We have more than 200 people injured and under treatment at different hospitals in Quetta and condition of some of the wounded is critical,” he said.
“Initially the death toll was not high but many critically injured persons including Siraj Raisani passed away in hospitals,” Balochistan’s caretaker health minister Faiz Kakar said.
Today’s attack is the deadliest terror strike in Pakistan since the brazen terror assault on an Army school in Peshawar in December 2014 in which about 150 people, mostly students, were killed.
Officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) confirmed that it was a suicide blast. They said that around 16-20 kilogram of explosives were used in the attack.
Following the incident, an emergency was declared in Quetta hospitals, with additional medical staff summoned.
In the meantime, at least 11 soldiers were killed when their checkpoint came under an attack by Insurgents in western Afghanistan, a provincial official said Saturday.
Mohammad Naser Mehri, spokesman for the Farah provincial governor, said four other soldiers were wounded in the gun battle in Bala Buluk district. Mehri said nine insurgents were killed and 13 others wounded.
Mehri said a “large number” of insurgents launched an attack late Friday night and the battle continued into early Saturday.
The Taliban have not claimed responsibility for the attack but Mehri blamed the group, which has recently stepped up assaults against Afghan security forces in the province.
In southern Helmand province, meanwhile, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives at a joint army and police checkpoint, killing policeman, said Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor.
Zwak said 11 other soldiers and police were wounded in the attack, which took place outskirt of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack in Helmand, but Taliban are in control of the majority of the districts in the province, where they have increased their attacks both against provincial officials and Afghan security forces.
Zee with additional report from ABC