22 Shiite pilgrims killed near Pak-Iran border

ISLAMABAD (Pajhwok): A powerful explosion killed at least 22 Shiite pilgrims on a bus and injured another 32 in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, officials said.

Escorted by security vehicles, the bus was coming from the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan when it came under attack in Dringhar area of the militancy-plagued Mastung town, some 50 kilometres southwest of Quetta.

The bus caught fire after the blast that occurred on the main Quetta-Taftan Highway, Shafqat Anwar, a government official in Mastung, said. He said the injured included 24 men and eight women

Balochistan Home Secretary Asadur Rehman Gilani said investigators believed around 80 kilograms of explosives were used, but it remained unclear whether it was a suicide attack.

Banned militant group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

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