Islamabad - An Islamic State suicide bomber blew himself up
among devotees at the most revered shrine of Sufi Islam in Pakistan
on Thursday, killing at least 70 people and wounding scores more.
The bomb targeted the Sehwan Sharif shrine in the southern province
of Sindh, where thousands of men and women gather every Thursday
night for Sufi dance and music, local official Samee Uddin said.
Most of the bodies and body parts taken to hospital were charred
beyond recognition, said doctor Moin Ahmed.
The death toll might go up as dozens of the more than 250 wounded
were in a critical condition, said Mohamed Rafiq from the Edhi rescue
service.
The bomber entered the "loosely secured" compound of the shrine and
reached one of the praying verandahs to detonate his explosives-laden
vest, local official Munawar Mehsar told the media.
The shrine is dedicated to Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a 13th century Sufi
philosopher and poet from the region.
Sufi shrines often come under attack from the Taliban and Islamic
State, a Sunni extremist group.
A majority of Pakistan's 160 million people practices Sufi Islam,
which stands opposed to the Taliban's understanding of a narrow and
militant Islam.
In November, more than 50 Sufi devotees were killed when a suicide
bomber sent by the Islamic State group attacked a shrine in the
south-western province of Balochistan.
Nearly 90 people have been killed in militant attacks since the start
of the week.
However, violence has declined in Pakistan since the military pushed
back the Taliban, which is allied with al-Qaeda, from regions near
the Afghan border in a series of offensives launched from mid-2014.
But the insurgents' ability to launch surprise attacks remains a
challenge for security forces and intelligence agencies.