Pakistan: Suicide Bomber Kills 63 in Attack Targeting Hospital
- Updated Aug 08, 2016
A suicide attack at a Pakistani hospital has left 63 dead and more than 50 wounded, according to The Christian Post.
Officials said the attack appeared to have been pre-planned because the perpetrator targeted mourners who were gathered in the hospital’s emergency department to honor a prominent lawyer who had been shot and killed earlier in the day.
"It seems it was a pre-planned attack," said Anwar ul Haq Kakar, a government spokesman.
More than 100 people had been gathered at the hospital to mourn the fallen lawyer. Perpetrators of the attack were reportedly aware of the lawyer’s death and the gathering at the hospital when they decided to carry out the attack.
Chaos broke out at the hospital in the aftermath of the attack, with people running to escape the smoke and debris.
At this time, no terrorist group has taken responsibility for the attack which took place in the city of Quetta in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province--a region often plagued by violence.
In January, a suicide attack killed 15 people outside a polio eradication center in the region. Quetta is known for being the base of the Afghan Taliban.
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: August 8, 2016
