QUETTA, PAKISTAN – A bomb hidden in a water tank ripped through a crowded vegetable market in a mostly Shiite neighborhood of Quetta late Saturday, killing at least 81 people and wounding more than 160, Pakistani officials said.
It was the deadliest incident since bombings targeting Shiites in the southwestern city killed 86 people earlier this year, leading to days of protests that eventually toppled the local government.
In a country dominated by Sunni Muslims, Shiites have been increasingly attacked by militant groups who view them as heretics and non-Muslims. Many of the Shiites in Quetta, including those in the neighborhood attacked Saturday, are Hazaras, an ethnic group that migrated from Afghanistan more than a century ago.
The remote-controlled bomb destroyed shops, caused a two-story building to collapse and left a massive crater.
Local residents rushed the victims to three hospitals, many using private vehicles because there weren’t enough ambulances.
Angry Shiites protested in the streets, blocking roads with burning tires and throwing stones at passing vehicles. Some fired into the air in an attempt to keep people away from the area in case of a second explosion.
On Sunday morning, the city was completely shut down as people observed a strike called by the Hazara Democratic Party as a way to honor the dead and protest the repeated slaughter of members of their ethnic and religious community.
Bostan Ali, the Quetta chief of the Hazara Democratic Party, said the group is planning another protest in the city similar to one held in January after twin bombings in Quetta killed at least 86 people. During that protest, Hazaras refused to bury their dead for four days, instead protesting in the streets alongside coffins holding their loved ones.
“We will not bury our dead until stringent action is taken against terrorists who are targeting and killing Shiites,” Ali said.
The rally in January sparked similar events across the country and an outpouring of sympathy for Shiites. The prime minister flew to Quetta and after meeting with protesters dismissed the local government.
However, Saturday’s massive blast indicated that the militant groups are still capable of targeting Shiites.
The police chief said investigators were not certain who was behind the bombing, but a local television station reported that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni extremist group that has targeted Shiites in the past, had called to claim responsibility.
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