Lashkar-i-Jhangvi Claims Responsibility For Pilgrims’ Bus Attack

Islamabad, June 30, IRNA – Pakistani banned outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has claimed responsibility of a bomb attack on a bus of Shiite pilgrims that killed 13 people near the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, local media reported on Friday. A spokesman for the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Abu Bakar Siddiq, called reporters and claimed responsibility for the attack. The bus, heading to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, from the border town of Taftan, came under attack at Hazar Ganji area, some 15 kilometers from Quetta. Nearly 30 other people were also injured in the deadly attack. Doctors said several were registered critical. The injured were shifted to hospitals by the residents in their private vehicles. The blast completely destroyed the bus and a police van, escorting the bus. A police officer, Mir Zubair, said that preliminary investigations indicate that it was a suicide attack. Officials of the bomb disposal squad said that around 15-20kg explosives were used in the blast. Shiite groups have called for a strike in Quetta on Friday to condemn the attack. Tahafuz-e-Azadari Council has demanded arrest of those behind the brutal attack and killing of innocent people. Officials say that nearly 160 buses carry Shiite pilgrims for visiting religious places and shrines in Iran every months. Banned extremist groups have also carried out attacks on pilgrims in the past, killing and injuring many of them. Shiite groups in Balochistan say that the government has failed to provide protection to the pilgrims despite their repeated demands and series of attacks./end