53 Killed At A Bombing In Pakistan

An explosion took place shortly after the body of a prominent lawyer killed in a shooting attack was taken to the hospital.

At least fifty-three people have been killed in a bombing at a hospital in southwest Pakistan.

Dozens of other people were injured in the blast, which happened in the grounds of a government-run hospital in Quetta.

The bomb attack appeared to target around 150 mourners who had gathered close to the hospital's emergency ward, a spokesman for the Balochistan government said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is not yet known who is behind the killing of the lawyer, Bilal Kasi, who was shot dead by two gunmen as he left his home for work.

The attack is the second deadliest bombing in Pakistan this year, after a blast in Lahore which killed 75 people in March.

In a statement Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his "deep grief and anguish over the loss of precious human lives."

He said: "No one will be allowed to disturb peace in the province that has been restored due to countless sacrifices of security forces, police and the people of Baluchistan."

Sanaullah Zehri, the chief minister in Balochistan province, said that the blast appears to be a suicide attack but that the police are still investigating.

The military has been deployed in and around the Quetta's hospitals.