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Suicide bombing kills at least 64 in Pakistan

At least 64 people were killed and close to 100 wounded in a terror attack apparently aimed a lawyers in Pakistan on Monday.

A suicide bomber on Monday targeted a government-run hospital in the Pakistani city of Quetta in the southwestern province of Balochistan. No group has yet claimed responsibility.

A gathering of dozens of lawyers was taking place in the building, where the body of a prominent attorney, Bilal Kasi, had been brought. Kasi was shot and killed earlier in the day. His colleagues were gathered at Quetta Civil Hospital to express their grief, according to common practice.

Attorney Abdul Latif, a witness to the attack, said he had gone to the hospital to pay his respects to Kasi, but he didn’t expect to “see the bodies of dozens of other lawyers” murdered shortly afterwards.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed “deep grief and anguish over the loss of precious human lives.”

“No one will be allowed to disturb the peace in the province that has been restored thanks to the countless sacrifices by the security forces, police and the people of Baluchistan,” Sharif said in a statement, telling local authorities to strengthen security in the area.

Pakistani military chief Gen. Raheel Sharif also went the hospital and visited the wounded. He ordered intelligence agencies to track down and apprehend all those linked to the attack.

Ali Zafar, head of the country’s main lawyers’ association, condemned the blast as “an attack on justice.” Lawyers will observe three days of mourning.

The province of Balochistan province is home to several separatist groups. Islamic terror organizations such as Al-Qaeda also have a presence there.

By: World Israel News Staff
(With files from AP)