A bomb ripped through the most revered shrine of Sufi Islam in Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 30 devotees and wounding several dozen others, officials said.
The bomb targeted the Sehwan Sharif shrine in the southern province of Sindh, where thousands of men and women gather every Thursday night for Sufi dance and music, provincial government spokesman Maula Bux Chandio said.
At least 50 people were wounded, and most of them were in a critical condition, local official Munawar Mehsar told the media.
A medic at the local hospital told dpa the death toll might rise because more bodies were being taken to the facility.
Local media reported a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the main compound of the shrine, but there was no official word on the nature of the blast.
Sufi shrines often come under attack by the rebel Taliban, who follow the hardline Salafist version of Islam popular in most of parts of Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia.
More than 50 people have been killed in Taliban attacks since the start of the week, a marked uptick in violence.
Violence has declined in Pakistan since the military pushed back the rebel Taliban, which is allied with al-Qaeda, from the regions on the Afghan border in a series of offensives launched from mid 2014.
But the insurgents' ability to launch surprise attacks remains a challenge for security forces and intelligence agencies.
By Zia Khan
