Powerful bomb explosion at Quetta civil hospital kills 55 in Balochistan province in Pakistan

Quetta August 8:At least 55 people, mostly lawyers, were on Monday killed and over 100 others injured when a powerful bomb ripped through a government-run Civil  hospital in Quetta in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province, in a suspected suicide attack followed by gunfire.

The blast at Civil Hospital came hours after unidentified gunmen shot dead president of Balochistan Bar Association (BA) Advocate Bilal Anwar Kasi in the provincial capital following which lawyers had brought his body to the hospital, according to police and rescue officials.

A loud explosion was heard as lawyers and journalists had gathered at the emergency department where Kasi’s body was brought for autopsy.

Most of the dead and injured are lawyers, and include police officials and journalists as well, police and eye witnesses were quoted as saying in reports.

Police said unknown men also opened fire after the blast. As many as 55 people have been killed and over 100 others are injured, Balochistan government spokesman Anwarul Haq  said. The condition of about 20 of those injured is said to be serious.

It was not immediately clear if the blast and the earlier shooting were related and no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far.

A journalist was among the deceased while another was critically injured, according to reports. “This was a security lapse and I am having this personally investigated,” Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said.

Panic tore through the hospital after the incident and emergency has been declared at hospitals in Quetta.

Video footage showed bodies strewn and pools of blood and shattered glass as shocked survivors cried and comforted one another. Many of the dead appeared to be wearing black suits and ties.

A heavy contingent of Frontier Corps and police arrived and cordoned off the area.

It is suspected that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, Bugti said.  Two unidentified men opened fire at Advocate Kasi’s car near Quetta’s Mengal Chowk on Manno Jan road as he left his home in the morning for work, police officials said.