Heavy Suicide Attack in Immambargah in Chakwal, 30 Killed, over 200 injured

Islamabad: At least 30 people were killed and over 200 injured when a suicide bomber struck at a religious gathering in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Sunday.

The blast took place in the Chakwal area, during an annual religious gathering of the minority Shia community. According to eyewitnesses, the blast was a suicide attack.

The attacker entered an Imambargah or prayer hall at Chakwal, located about 90 km from Islamabad, where about 2,000 worshippers had gathered for a religious function, and blew himself up.

A massive rescue operation was launched with dozens of ambulances being used to ferry the injured to hospitals in nearby cities like Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Officials in a hospital in Chakwal said about 10 of the injured were in a serious condition.

No group has so far claimed the responsibility for the attack.

Militants have targeted Imambargahs and the minority Shia community in Sindh province in past and the North West Frontier Province in the past few months but today’s attack was significant as it occurred in the Punjab province.

The terrorist assault came a day after a suicide bomber attacked a paramilitary camp in the heart of Islamabad, killing eight security personnel and injuring five others.

Another suicide attack yesterday in the restive North Waziristan tribal agency left 17 civilians dead.

Tags: Bomb Blast, Heavy Suicide Attack in Immambargah, suicide attack in punjab pakistan, suicide blast in chakwal