A suicide bomber targeted a mosque in Quetta during evening prayers Friday, martyring at least 15 people and wounding 19 others, officials said. The blast took place in a satellite town of Quetta. Debris and shattered glass littered the scene.
Fida Mohammad, who was attending evening prayers, said about 60 people were present at the time of the attack on the mosque, which is located in a densely populated area.
The explosion ripped through the front row of worshippers seconds after the prayer began, he told AFP. "It was a powerful blast, people were screaming and running here and there - many people were injured because of the stampede," Mohammad said.
Mohammad Waseem, a doctor at Quetta's Sandeman hospital, confirmed that 15 victims had died.
The police chief of Balochistan, Mohsin Hassan Butt, also confirmed the death toll, telling AFP: "Nineteen people are still taking medical treatment, the condition of three to four is critical."
A police officer was among the dead, he added.
Provincial home minister Zia Ullah Langu told reporters that investigations by bomb disposal officers indicated that a suicide bomber carried out the attack.
A spokesman for the provincial government, Liaqat Shahwani, confirmed a suicide bomber was to blame.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE intelligence group.
A military spokesman said on Twitter that paramilitary personnel has reached the mosque and cordoned off the area.
"A joint search operation with police is in progress, injured being evacuated to hospitals," said the spokesman, Asif Ghafoor.-AFP
NNI adds: At least 15 people were martyred including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and several others injured after a blast occurred at a mosque in Ghousabad neighbourhood of Quetta's Satellite Town area, officials said Friday.
Balochistan Inspector General Amjad Butt said that Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Amanullah and the mosque's prayer leader were among the dead.
Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa said that Pakistan Army will give complete assistance to police and the civil administration, DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said in a tweet.
The DG ISPR conveyed the COAS' message and quoted him as saying: "Those who targeted innocents in a mosque can never be true Muslim." The army's spokesman said that the Frontier Corps personnel reached the site of the blast.
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, while condemning the incident, said that those who targeted worshippers have no religion or tribal affiliation. "They are only terrorists and deserve the harshest punishment," he said, adding that state enemies are once again trying to create a law and order situation in Balochistan.
The chief minister said, however, that they would not let anyone destroy the hard-earned peace that had been achieved through the sacrifices of the armed forces and citizens.
Home Minister Balochistan Zia Langove has condemned the blast, saying that "terrorists were scared of Pakistan's development". "Internal and external enemies are making failed efforts to create panic and unrest in the country," he said in a statement.
Langove vowed that "defeated terrorists will never be allowed to succeed". He expressed solidarity with the victims and said that no negligence will be tolerated in the medical treatment of the injured.