At least 49 people died in an explosion at a Shiite mosque in Pakistan, said Hadi Bakhsh Zardari, the deputy commissioner of Shikarpur district, where the blast occurred, told the Associated Press.
The explosion occurred just as people were gathering for Friday prayer, according to Sain Rakhio Mirani, the deputy inspector general for Shikarpur district, where the blast happened — about 300 miles from Karachi.
Dr. Shaukat Ali Memon, who leads the hospital where the injured were brought, said about 50 people were injured, some seriously. He also appealed for blood donations.
Some people may be trapped in a partial roof collapse, according to local media.
As the AP reported:
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Sunni Muslim extremists have often targeted religious institutions of Shiites, whom they do not consider to be true Muslims.
While Karachi has been the site of repeated bombings blamed on militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, the northern part of Sindh province has generally been much more peaceful.
But recent years have seen a trend of extremist organizations increasingly active in the central and northern part of the province, according to a new report by the United States Institute of Peace.
"Such attacks cannot lessen the spirit of the nation," Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the BBC.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered an inquiry, the BBC said.