Pakistan hospital bomb attack kills dozens in Quetta
Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:42:am World
2.8K By sosa hills
Dozens of people have been killed and injured in a suicide bomb attack in the grounds of a government-run hospital in the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta.
The casualties included lawyers and journalists accompanying the body of Bilal Anwar Kasi. a prominent lawyer who was killed in a shooting earlier in the day, was brought to the hospital. It was unclear if the two events were connected.
Gunfire followed the explosion. It was not clear who the attackers were.
Pakistani police have said they suspect the bomb was detonated by a suicide attacker.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which struck at the gates of the building housing the emergency ward. Earlier, police mistakenly said the bomb struck the hospital's main gate.
Riaz Ahmed, a 74-year-old lawyer, had gone to the hospital with an assistant and his nephew to find out what had happened to Kasi when the blast occurred.
"I was near a wall and I fell down," he said. "The wall protected me. My assistant and my nephew are injured and being treated. It was a miracle that I survived.
"There was chaos after the blast, with body parts lying everywhere. It is hard to recognise the victims. Many of the injured are quite critical. Most of the dead are prominent lawyers."
Pakistan's prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, denounced the attack and expressed his "deep grief and anguish over the loss of precious human lives".
Riaz Ahmed, a 74-year-old lawyer, had gone to the hospital with an assistant and his nephew to find out what had happened to Kasi when the blast occurred.
Mr Kasi, who was president of the Balochistan Bar Association, had been shot while on his way to the main court complex in Quetta, local news outlet Geo TV reported.
Several relatives who accompanied his body to the hospital were killed in the blast. "We have lost at least eight cousins. This is a tragic time for our family," said Zarak Khan Kasi, a cousin.
The casualties included lawyers and journalists accompanying the body of Bilal Anwar Kasi. a prominent lawyer who was killed in a shooting earlier in the day, was brought to the hospital. It was unclear if the two events were connected.
Gunfire followed the explosion. It was not clear who the attackers were.
Pakistani police have said they suspect the bomb was detonated by a suicide attacker.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which struck at the gates of the building housing the emergency ward. Earlier, police mistakenly said the bomb struck the hospital's main gate.
Riaz Ahmed, a 74-year-old lawyer, had gone to the hospital with an assistant and his nephew to find out what had happened to Kasi when the blast occurred.
"I was near a wall and I fell down," he said. "The wall protected me. My assistant and my nephew are injured and being treated. It was a miracle that I survived.
"There was chaos after the blast, with body parts lying everywhere. It is hard to recognise the victims. Many of the injured are quite critical. Most of the dead are prominent lawyers."
Pakistan's prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, denounced the attack and expressed his "deep grief and anguish over the loss of precious human lives".
Riaz Ahmed, a 74-year-old lawyer, had gone to the hospital with an assistant and his nephew to find out what had happened to Kasi when the blast occurred.
Mr Kasi, who was president of the Balochistan Bar Association, had been shot while on his way to the main court complex in Quetta, local news outlet Geo TV reported.
Several relatives who accompanied his body to the hospital were killed in the blast. "We have lost at least eight cousins. This is a tragic time for our family," said Zarak Khan Kasi, a cousin.
Related News
Leave a comment...