Worshippers targeted in two Pak cities: 6 killed

At least six persons, including a child, were killed and more than 30 others injured in two bomb attacks targeting a Sufi shrine and a mosque in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Quetta today.

In Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, a bomb went off within a Sufi shrine in Hazar Khwani area.

The shrine was packed with people attending special prayers, witnesses said.

Officials told the media that at least four persons, including a child, were killed and over 20 others injured.

The injured, including women and children, were taken to Lady Reading Hospital, where doctors described the condition of three persons as serious.

The bomb was hidden in a pressure cooker, officials said.

The device contained about 10 kg of explosives and was fitted with a timer, officials of the bomb disposal squad told the media.

In Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Balochistan, two persons were killed and 15 others injured when a bomb went off in a mosque in Ghausabad area.

One person was killed instantly while another died as he was being taken to hospital.

The dead and injured were taken to a nearby hospital.

The nature of the blast could not immediately be ascertained.

A witness said the blast occurred while people were praying in the mosque.

No group claimed responsibility for both attacks.