• Victims of Pakistan bomb attack mourned

    Arshad Butt / AP

    Pakistani relatives of Saturday's bombing victims mourn next to the bodies in a mosque in Quetta, Pakistan, Feb. 17. Angry residents demanded government protection from an onslaught of attacks against Shiite Muslims a day after scores of people were killed in a massive bombing that a local official said was a sign that security agencies were too scared to do their jobs.

    Dozens of people including schoolchildren were killed Saturday in a bomb attack carried out by extremists from Pakistan's Sunni Muslim majority, police said.

    A spokesman for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni group, claimed responsibility for the bomb, which caused casualties in Quetta's main bazaar, a school and a computer center. Police said most of the victims were Shiites.

    -- By Gul Yousufzai, Reuters

    Read the full story.

    Naseer Ahmed / Reuters

    A man prepares graves for the burial of victims.

    Naseer Ahmed / Reuters

    A girl cries during the funeral for victims of Saturday's bomb attack.

    Musa Farman / EPA

    A Pakistani paramilitary soldier inspects the belongings of a boy at the scene.

    Yslb Pak / Zuma Press

    Fire rages from destroyed buildings Feb. 16 at the site of the attack.

    Naseer Ahmed / Reuters

    Smoke rises in a Shiite Muslim area after the attack Feb. 16.

    Sixty-four people including schoolchildren died Saturday in a bomb attack carried out by extremists from Pakistan's Sunni Muslim majority. NBC's Lester Holt reports.

     

  • Banaras Khan / AFP - Getty Images

    Pakistani media film a bullet-riddled burning bus in Quetta on October 4. Gunmen attacked a bus carrying Shiite Muslims in Pakistan's insurgency-torn southwestern province of Baluchistan.

    Gunmen attack bus carrying Shiite Muslims in Quetta, Pakistan

    The AP reports from QUETTA, Pakistan:

    Suspected Sunni extremists executed 12 Shiite Muslims after ordering them off a bus and lining them up in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, ramping up a campaign of sectarian violence gripping the region, police said. Continue reading.

  • Suicide bombers kill 20 in Quetta, Pakistan

    GRAPHIC WARNING: This post contains graphic images which some viewers may find disturbing.

    Reuters reports from QUETTA, Pakistan:

     Two suicide bombers targeting a senior security official struck near government offices in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Wednesday, killing 20 people, a police official said.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Pakistan's Taliban militants, who are close to al Qaeda, often carry out such attacks under a campaign designed to topple the U.S.-backed government.

    Autonomy-seeking militants demanding a greater share of the profits from oil and other resources in the province of Baluchistan, of which Quetta is the capital, have also waged a low-level insurgency for decades. Continue reading.

    Arshad Butt / AP

    Police and rescue workers remove a dead body from the site of a suicide bombing in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sept. 7. A pair of suicide bombers attacked the house of a top military officer in the southwestern city of Quetta, killing his wife and scores of other people, including soldiers, authorities said.

    Naseer Ahmed / Reuters

    Rescue workers and security officials assist a wounded soldier to an ambulance at the site of a double suicide bombing in Quetta on Sept. 7.

    Naseer Ahmed / Reuters

    Mohammad Azam, 56, injured by a double suicide bombing in Quetta, is assisted to an ambulance by police and rescue workers on Sept. 7.

     

  • Suicide car bomber attacks Shiite Muslims in Quetta, Pakistan

    The AP reports from QUETTA, Pakistan:

     A suicide car bomber attacked Shiite Muslims in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday as they were heading home after morning prayers at the start of an Islamic holiday. The blast killed 10 people, officials said.

    The attack occurred in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Baluchistan is believed to be home to many Taliban militants who have targeted Shiites in the past. Extremist Sunni Muslim groups like the Taliban view Shiites as heretics. Continue reading.

     

    Banaras Khan / AFP - Getty Images

    Local residents gather at the site of a car bomb blast in Quetta, Pakistan, on August 31.

    Banaras Khan / AFP - Getty Images

    Flames rise from a car at the site of a bomb blast in Quetta on August 31. A car bomb exploded in a parking lot after Eid prayers, police said.

    Banaras Khan / AFP - Getty Images

    Local residents attempt to extinguish burning vecicles after a car bomb blast in Quetta on August 31.

    Naseer Ahmed / Reuters

    A man sits grieving next to the body of his eleven-year-old brother after his body was recovered from the site of a car bomb blast in Quetta on August 31.

    A car bomb explodes after Shiite Muslims were finishing morning prayers in Quetta, Pakistan, killing at least 10 people. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.