Suicide Bomber Kills 29 People at Funeral

A suicide bomber killed at least 29 people and
wounded 15 others, targeting the funeral of a
Pakistani police officer assassinated earlier on
Thursday, an official said.

The attack took place at the police headquarters in
the troubled southwestern city of Quetta, Pakistan
where officers gathered to pay their respects to a
colleague who had been shot dead only hours
before.

The suicide bomber struck before Muslim faithful
in Pakistan are due to break their daily fast for the
last time in the holy month of Ramadan, to be
followed by the Eid al-Fitr holiday on Friday.

“At least eight police officers have been killed. It
was a suicide attack,” said police officer Selim
Shehwani, warning that the death toll could rise
further.

He confirmed that Fayaz Sumbal, a deputy
inspector general of police and one of the most
senior officers in the city, was among those killed.
An AFP reporter saw five dead bodies in a hospital
morgue.

Doctor Syed Sarwar Shah said the dead included
four policemen and a son of the imam of the
mosque at police headquarters.

Police officer Rahim Khan told AFP that another
three senior officers had also been killed.
“We are collecting more details. We have declared
an emergency,” he said.

Policeman Mohammad Hafiz spoke of his horror
after the explosion.
“I was inside the mosque and we were lining up
for the funeral prayers when a big blast took place.
I came out and saw injured and dead bodies lying
on the ground,” Hafiz told reporters.
“I have no words to explain what I’ve seen. It was
horrible.”

The blast capped a bloody Ramadan in Pakistan,
where at least 11 attacks have killed more than 90
people during the month.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Quetta is on the frontline of violence blamed on
Islamist militants, sectarian killers targeting the
Shiite Muslim minority and a separatist insurgency
waged by Baluch rebels.