Bajaur: At least 39 dead after blast rips through political gathering in Pakistan

CNN  —  At least 39 people died and over 120 were injured after a blast tore through a political convention organized by an Islamist party in northwestern Pakistan, police said. The Inspector General of Police for the region of Bajaur, Akhter Hayat Gandapur, said the injured in Sunday’s suspected suicide blast had been rushed to hospital. The explosion targeted members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party who had gathered in the town of Khar, close to the border with Afghanistan. There has been no initial claim of responsibility for the attack. But the local branch of ISIS has previously targeted JUI-F party leaders as they consider them apostates. The leader of the JUI-F party, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, expressed “deep sorrow and regret” following the blast, in a statement released by his press office. “‎Peace be upon JUI workers,” the statement added. “The federal and provincial government should provide the best treatment to the injured.” One witness said more than 500 people were attending the convention when the blast occurred. “A powerful explosion knocked me unconscious,” Rahim Shah told Dawn.com. When he came around there were “people screaming and even shots fitness were fired,” he said, adding that there was blood everywhere.