Pak blast toll reaches 35 as town observes shutdown

Islamabad, Feb 6 (PTI) The death toll in a suicide bomb
attack outside a Shia prayer hall in the Pakistani town of Dera Ghazi Khan Friday rose to 35, with five of the injured succumbing to their injuries in hospital.

Two of the 16 seriously injured people who were sent to
nearby Multan for treatment died this morning, while three
persons died in different hospitals in Dera Ghazi Khan
Thursday night, TV channels reported.

The town observed total shutdown with schools, shops and
business premises closed as that Shia community observed a
protest day.

Thirty people, including two children and several women,
were killed and nearly 70 others injured when a suspected
suicide bomber struck a Shia religious gathering in Dera Ghazi
Khan in Punjab province Thursday night.

The funeral of those killed will be held after Friday
prayers Friday.

The blast occurred when about 100 people had joined a
religious procession outside an imambargah or Shia prayer
hall. Officials said about a dozen people were killed
instantly by the powerful explosion while others died in
hospital. Some of the bodies are yet to be identified.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Police officials said investigations suggested the blast was
caused by a suicide bomber as there was no crater at the site
of the attack.

Authorities tightened security for imambargahs and
processions across Punjab province after the attack. PTI RHL
PMR