In yet another attack on Shia Muslims in Pakistan, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia seminary in restive Quetta city on Friday killing 14 people.

Islamabad, June 21/Nationalturk- A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia seminary in Pakistan’s Northwestern restive Quetta city   on Friday killing 14 people and injuring 35 others.

“The Shia Hussaini Madrassa in Gulshan Colony, Peshawar was target of the suicide bombing. The interior of the seminary was destroyed in the bombing,” a police official said.

He said the suicide bomber entered the seminary through the back door and blew himself up when Friday sermon was being delivered in the seminary.

The complex, which belongs to the Shia sect, comprises a seminary and a mosque.

40 people were present in seminary

The official said around 40 people were inside the seminary at the time of the blast. “It had the capacity to hold up to 80 people”

Reports said the attacker shot at the guards posted at the entrance of the complex before entering the premises and detonating the explosives. Other reports said that the police guard fired at the attacker on the front gate and he entered from the back gate and detonated his explosive vest.

Death toll like to go up

The police official said at least 14 people were killed and 35 others injured in the blast.

“The injured were shifted to nearby hospitals, where doctors have termed condition of some of them as critical. The death toll was likely to go up as many people have sustained critical injuries,” he said.

The official said initial reports said that the bomber was reportedly 22 years old. “Body parts of the suicide bomber have been collected for further investigation,” he said.

A prayer leader at the mosque adjacent to the seminary told Pakistan’s TV channel Geo News that the blast took place before the Friday sermon. “Appropriate security arrangements were not made to avert such an incident,” he said.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far but authorities apprehend that suicide bombing may have been carried out by dreaded militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or its allied groups, which has owned several such bombings in the past.

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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk Pakistan News

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