ISIS claims responsibility for Pakistan suicide blast that left 25 dead
A suicide blast in Mastung, in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, has left 25 people dead and 35 injured, including Deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ghafoor Haideri. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Speaking to local media, Haideri, who has been moved to a military hospital in Quetta, said he was not seriously hurt and was saddened by the deadly attack. His convoy was the target of the roadside explosion, reported Reuters.
"We received 20 bodies so far and over 35 injured," Shafi Zehri a doctor in Mastung told reporters.
Images corroborated by RT show the extent of the explosion, which destroyed Haideri’s vehicle.
مستونگ میں دھماکا، 10 افراد جاں بحق، مولانا عبدالغفور حیدری زخمی https://t.co/0vomJ7awBGpic.twitter.com/a7fxesXktg
— Geo News Urdu (@geonews_urdu) May 12, 2017
Haideri, a member of Jamiat e Ulema Islam, a right-wing Sunni Islamist political party and part of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's coalition government. The deputy Senate leader reportedly requested an armored vehicle but one has not been provided.
#Mastung: "I am alive, Allah has saved my life,it was a sudden blast, broken pieces of the windscreen hit me, I'm injured but safe": Haideri pic.twitter.com/I8jdgyOuU5
— Dunya News (@DunyaNews) May 12, 2017
Speaking to Reuters following the blast he said: "There are many casualties as there were many people in the convoy.”
Haideri’s driver was killed in the attack, which Mastung police official Ghazanfar Ali Shah said was carried out by a suicide bomber. The area of the explosion has been cordoned off by officials and an investigation is underway.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack in an area where many militant groups are known to be operating.
