ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – At least 37 people were reported killed and more than 70 injured Thursday when a suicide bomber struck inside a famous Sufi shrine in southeastern Pakistan that was full of devotees, police and medical officials reported.
No group has asserted responsibility for the blast, which occurred in Sindh province, but it came after several successive days of terrorist attacks in all four provinces of Pakistan and two tribal areas. On Monday, a suicide bombing ina crowded square in the eastern city of Lahore killed 13 people and injured scores.
A militant group affiliated with the Islamic State claimed the Lahore bombing and said it was the start of an operation targeting government agencies and sites.
The Thursday blast occurred at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in the town of Sehwan, about 75 miles from the city of Hyderabad. Ambulances were sent from several nearby towns, and an emergency was declared at hospitals in the region, health officials said. Sehwan does not have a trauma center.
The attack was similar to one last year at a shrine in Balochistan province that killed at least 45 people.
Police in Hyderabad said the attacker appeared to have entered the shrine through its famous Golden Gate. The location also has political significance as the home district of the province’s chief minister, its highest elected official.
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