Explosion targets mosque in Pakistan’s Quetta

At least three people have been killed and 28 wounded after a bomb exploded at a mosque in the western Pakistani city of Quetta.

At least three people have been killed and 28 wounded after a bomb exploded at a mosque in the western Pakistani city of Quetta.

The explosion took place inside a mosque before Friday prayers, city Police Chief Abdul Razzaq Cheema told new sources by phone, adding that at least three of the wounded were in critical condition.

Local police official Tauseef Farman told sources an explosive device went off next to the prayer leader, who was among those killed.

The area was cordoned off by security forces shortly after the explosion, and a bomb disposal unit was conducting investigations, Cheema said.

Quetta is the capital of Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and least populated province; it is also rich in mineral and fuel resources.

It has seen regular violence in recent years, with attacks claimed by Baloch separatists, Pakistan Taliban and local affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group.