A blast at a bus stop killed 23 people and injured dozens more in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, authorities said.
A Sunni militant group has claimed responsibility.
The explosion hit the bus stop at a busy market in Parachinar, the capital of Kurram Agency, said Amjad Ali, a local official. At least 50 others were injured.
He said the number of casualties could go up as security forces, who have cordoned off the area, investigate the blast.
Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz condemned the blast and expressed sorrow over the loss of life and property:
“Our resolve to eradicate the menace of terrorism is getting stronger and stronger with the loss of innocent lives and sacrifices of army and law enforcement officials,” he said in a statement. “This fight is an irreversible process until this terrorism is rooted out from the country.”
A spokesman for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Pakistan-based Sunni militant group that the U.S. State Department classified as a terrorist group in 2003, claimed responsibility for the blast. The State Department also listed the group’s co-founder, Malik Ishaq, as a specially designated global terroristlast year.
The attack was billed as revenge for acts against Syrian Muslims that were conducted on behalf of Iran and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Ali Bin Sufyan said.
[Source:- CNN]