Suicide bomber kills 8 in southwest Pakistan

At least eight people were killed and over 30 injured when a suicide bomber today targeted a bus bringing back Pakistani Shia pilgrims from Iran in Quetta city, officials said.

The blast ripped through the bus and a police vehicle in Hazarganji area of Quetta, the capital of southwestern province of Balochistan.

The bus, escorted by two police vans, was bringing back pilgrims from Iran.

Officials at two hospitals said they had received eight bodies. Two policemen were among the dead, witnesses said.

Several women and policemen were among the injured. Some of the wounded were in a serious condition, officials said.

Officials were quoted by TV news channels as saying that the bus was targeted by a suicide bomber. About 40 people were in the bus.

The site of the blast was cordoned off by security personnel.

Footage on television showed the bus was reduced to a mangled heap of blackened metal.

Rescue workers and local residents could be seen pulling bodies and injured out of the bus.

Later, a crane was brought in to pry apart the twisted metal so that the injured could be removed.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has been blamed for a series of attacks on Shias in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan since last year.