Pakistan: Over 70 dead in ISIS suicide attack on Sufi shrine

According to local media reports, the explosion took place within the premises of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's mausoleum during the "Dhamaal" ritual.

Karachi, Feb 16: Over 70 people were killed and nearly 150 others injured tonight when an Islamic State suicide bomber blew himself up inside the crowded shrine of revered Sufi Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan town, some 200 kms northeast of Karachi, in a string of deadly blasts this week in Pakistan.

The bomber entered the shrine through its Golden gate and blew himself up near the site where the ritual of sufi dance 'Dhamal' was taking place. The attacker first threw a grenade, to cause panic and then blew himself up, police said. The shrine is situated on the Super Highway in Dadu district. The area is located far from any hospital, with the nearest medical complex located 40 to 50 kilometres from the site of the blast. Devotees gather at the shrine of the revered Sufi saint every Thursday to participate in a dhamaal and prayers.

The ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on their Aamaq news agency, saying a suicide bomber had targeted a "Shiite gathering" at the shrine in Sindh. Commissioner Hyderabad Kazi Shahid said since the shrine was located in a remote area, some 130 kms from Hyderabad, ambulances and vehicles and medical teams were being sent from Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Moro, Dadu and Nawabshah to the blast site to take care of the injured and move the bodies.

Earlier, Sindh Health Minister Sikandar Mandhro said that "40-50 people" have been injured in the blast. Initial report suggests that it was a suicide bombing on portion reserved for women in the shrine, the Dawn reported, quoting SSP Jamshoro Tariq Wilayat. "It seems to be a suicide bombing according to initial information provided by Sehwan police to me and I am on way to Shewan," Wilayat said.

Rescue officials said due to the non availability of adequate ambulances at the shrine the toll could rise. "Ambulances have been rushed from Hyderabad and other close by places like Nawabshah, Moro, Dadu," Wilayat said. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah ordered immediate rescue operation and government announced emergency in the hospitals of the nearby Jamshooro and Hyderabad districts.

Television channels reported that dead bodies and injured were lying inside the shrine. Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was a Sufi philosopher-poet of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan.

One India New (with inputs from agencies)