Injured carried from scene of deadly Quetta blast

(8 Aug 2016) A huge bomb went off on the grounds of a government-run hospital in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Monday, killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens, police said.
Witnesses described horrifying scenes of bodies being scattered about and the wounded crying out for help.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.
The explosion took place shortly after the body of a prominent lawyer, who was gunned down in an attack earlier in the day, was brought to the hospital, said senior police official Zahoor Ahmed Afridi.
Nearly 100 lawyers and others had gathered at the hospital at the time to express grief over the death of their colleague, Afridi added.
It was unclear if the two events were in any way connected.
Police and officials said the attack appeared to have been a suicide bombing, although there was no immediate confirmation of that detail.
Noor Ahmed, the hospital's deputy chief surgeon for victims of violent crime, said they were treating about 50 wounded following the bombing.
Quetta is the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, which has long been subject to insurgency.
There are several ethnic Baluch separatist groups operating in the resource-rich province, but al-Qaida and other militant groups also have a presence there.


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