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| A Pakistani paramedic carries accompany injured lawyers to a hospital following a bomb blast in Quetta, Pakistan, Aug 8, 2016. (Photo / AP) |
QUETTA - A huge bomb went off on the grounds of a government-run hospital in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Monday, killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens, police said.
Witnesses described horrifying scenes of bodies being scattered about and the wounded screaming out and crying for help. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.
The explosion took place shortly after the body of a prominent lawyer, who was gunned down in an attack earlier in the day, was brought to the hospital, said senior police official Zahoor Ahmed Afridi.
It was unclear if the two events were in any way connected. Nearly 100 lawyers and others had gathered at the hospital at the time to express grief over the death of their colleague, Afridi added.
Police and Pakistani officials said the attack appeared to have been a suicide bombing but there was no immediate confirmation of that detail.
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| Map of Pakistan locating Quetta, where a bomb went off at a major hospital on Aug 8 , 2016 . (Photo / AFP ) |
