At least 25 people have been killed and dozens more wounded by a suicide bomber targeting a procession marking the birthday of Islam's Prophet Muhamad in Pakistan's Balochistan province on Friday.
"A procession of hundreds of people came out of the Madina mosque and as it reached Al Falah road a suicide bomber targeted it," Abdul Razzaq Sasoli, deputy commissioner of Mastung district said.
While the celebration of the Prophet's birthday is accepted by the majority of Islamic sects in Pakistan, certain denominations view it as an unwarranted innovation.
"At least 25 people were killed and more than 80 injured -- including 20 critically," Zubair Jamali, home minister of Balochistan, told the AFP news agency.
Rising death toll
Jan Achakzai, Balochistan's minister for information appealed for urgent blood donations to help treat the wounded.
He also announced a three-day mourning period.
Every year mosques and government buildings are elaborately illuminated with strings of lights, and people march in processions to mark the Prophet's birthday.
On the same occasion in April 2006, a suicide bomber killed at least 50 people in the port city of Karachi after detonating a device at a gathering.
No group ever claimed responsibility for the attack, although three men from the banned sectarian Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group were indicted.
Balochistan, Pakistan's least populous province, is also home to several militant groups fighting for independence or a greater share of the region's mineral resources.
Taliban claims innocence
Pakistan's Taliban, which has stepped up attacks against military and government targets since the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2021, said it had nothing to do with Friday's Balochistan attack.
"The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) asserts no connection to this attack, and our stance on bombings in public spaces is unequivocal," the group said in a statement.
The regional chapter of the Islamic State group, known as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), has also carried out attacks in the area in the past.
"The attack on innocent people who came to participate in the procession... is a very heinous act," the interior ministry said in a statement.
Separately, Pakistan's military said Friday four soldiers had been killed as they fought an attempt by TTP militants to infiltrate Balochistan from Afghanistan.
The military claims it neutralized terrorists triple the number of its slain soldiers.
