More than 50 dead in Pakistan shrine attack, families search for loved ones

Record ID: 79059

  • Title: More than 50 dead in Pakistan shrine attack, families search for loved ones
  • Date: 13th November 2016
  • Summary: ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF DEAD BODIES WRAPPED IN SHEETS PEOPLE AT SHRINE BLOOD ON FLOOR AND SHOES
  • Embargoed: 28th November 2016 07:01
  • Keywords: shrine attack Islamic State hospital family
  • Location: No-Data-Available
  • City: No-Data-Available
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA00258A0BIF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Anxious relatives rushed to hospitals in Pakistan's commercial city Karachi on Sunday (November 13) seeking news of their loved ones after an attack killed 52 people at a shrine.
    The explosion claimed by militant group Islamic State ripped through the Shah Noorani shrine in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday (November 12).
    Lists of dead and injured were pasted on hospital wall.
    "My two cousins and their two children were at Shah Noorani shrine yesterday. So far we don't have any information about them. I have come here to know their whereabouts," said Karachi resident Mohammad Asad.
    "I am searching for my uncle. I am worried about him. He has been living there at the shrine since last three, four months. Anyone who know about him, please inform me," said Zakir Ali, another Karachi resident.
    The shrine is located about 100 km. (60 miles) north of Karachi.
    It was not clear whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber or a planted device, according to authorities.
    Islamic State said in a statement via its Amaq news agency that its fighters had carried out Saturday's bombing.
    The jihadist group also claimed responsibility for the last major attack in the province, at a police academy last month that killed around 60 people.
    Muslim shrines have often been targeted by militant groups, many of whom adhere to a strict interpretation of Islam that regards veneration of saints at shrines such as Shah Noorani as heresy.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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