LOC17:20
14:20 GMT
ISLAMABAD, Jan 30 (KUNA) -- At least forty people were killed and around fifty others wounded in a blast targeting a worship place in Shikarpur district of Pakistan's southern Sindh province on Friday, said officials.
According to officials, the explosion occurred inside a central Imambargah (worship place for Shia Muslims) just after the Friday prayers.
The rescue teams rescued a number of victims those were trapped under debris after the roof of the Imambargah collapsed due to the intensive blast.
Sindh health minister Jam Mehtab Dahar told media that a total of 40 have been killed in the attack and 46 others have been wounded. Shaukat Ali Memon, the medical superintendent of Civil Hospital in Shikarpur, confirmed the death toll and warned it could rise further as many of the wounded were in a critical condition.
A local police official told media that up to 400 people were praying at the mosque when the blast occurred. Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said that an emergency had been imposed at all hospitals in Shikarpur and surrounding cities.
President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif issued condemnation messages against the incident. (pickup previous)
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