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Blast Kills Scores at Crowded Sufi Shrine in Pakistan

by Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD --

   A powerful bomb went off near a crowded Sufi shrine in a remote region
   of Pakistan's southwest Baluchistan province Saturday and local
   officials say it killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 30
   others.

   The death toll is expected to rise. Local reports say hundreds of
   people were present when the explosion occurred at the shrine about 100
   kilometers from Hub, a city on the border of neighboring Sindh
   province.

   The victims include women and children.

   Witnesses say there is no local hospital or medical facility to treat
   those wounded, which means rescue teams will take hours to reach the
   scene. Some shrine visitors are relying on their personal vehicles to
   transport the wounded and dead.