Deadly blast at funeral in Pakistan
At least 20 people killed in Lower Dir region in attack on funeral for tribal elder, police say.
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral in the Lower Dir region of Pakistan [EPA] |
At least 32 people have been killed and more than 60 others wounded in a suicide attack on a funeral in northwest Pakistan, police say.
The explosion, which occurred on Thursday in the town of Jandol in the Lower Dir region, targeted elders who are supporting the Pakistani security forces’ fight against the Taliban, Saleem Marwat, the district police chief, said.
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A suicide bomber went into the funeral prayers and blew himself up, Marwat added.
He said the bomber’s head had been retrieved from the scene and indicated that the attacker, who had hidden in the nearby fields, was in his late teens.
“It was a suicide attack. A bomber came on foot and blew himself up in the middle of people as they were about to start prayers.”
Local senior police official Akhtar Hayat Gandapur said there were more than 100 people attending the funeral.
The death toll from the attack is expected to rise.
The owner of a medical store in Jandol described scenes of bloody devastation following the explosion.
“I could see pools of blood everywhere on the ground with pieces of flesh… lying on the ground,” said store owner Zahoor Khan.
“There were mutilated bodies everywhere… People were collecting the remains of the dead in bed sheets and these scenes were very disturbing.”
The region is close to the Afghan border and has seen violence between armed groups and security forces.