Seven dead in Pakistan hospital suicide bombing

A suicide bomber attacked a hospital in the south-west Pakistani city of Quetta today, killing at least seven people, as Shiite Muslims gathered to mourn a murdered bank manager.

A suicide bomber attacked a hospital in the south-west Pakistani city of Quetta today, killing at least seven people, as Shiite Muslims gathered to mourn a murdered bank manager.

The explosion in Quetta underscored the poor security conditions in Pakistan, where sectarian violence remains a problem even as al-Qaida and Taliban militants pose a growing - and linked - threat.

Gunshots rang out after the explosion at the Civil Hospital, and TV footage showed rescuers carrying away the dead and wounded.

Among the dead was a cameraman working for Pakistan's Samaa TV, who had been with a group of journalists covering the aftermath of the bank manager's shooting, a hospital official said.

Police official Mohammad Sabir said the Shiite bank manager was shot dead on Friday morning and his friends and relatives had gathered at the emergency room when the suicide bomber detonated his weapons outside.

Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan province, and it is believed to be a major centre for the leadership of the Afghan Taliban.

However, the violence that occurs in Baluchistan has been blamed on Baluch separatist groups or tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

In February, suspected Sunni militants bombed a bus carrying Shiite worshippers and two hours later attacked a hospital in the southern city of Karachi which was treating the victims, killing 25 people and wounding 100.

In August 2008, a suicide blast outside the emergency ward of a hospital crowded with Shiite Muslim mourners in the volatile north-western town of Dera Ismail Khan killed at least 27 people, including two police officers.

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