Eight killed in gun attack in Pakistani city of Quetta
Quetta is being badly hit by the increasing violence in Pakistan
At least eight people were killed when gunmen opened fire outside a mosque in the second attack in Quetta in south-west Pakistan in as many days.
About 15 others were wounded in the attack, which came as worshippers left the Sunni Muslim mosque after sunrise prayers for the Eid al-Fitr festival.
Bullets hit the car of Ali Madad Jatak, a former Pakistan People's Party provincial minister, but he was unhurt.
On Thursday dozens of people died in a suicide bomb blast in Quetta.
In the latest attack, four unidentified men opened fire on the former minister as prayers came to a close.
"They fled after killing innocent people," Mr Jatak said. "I was the target. They could have fired at me. They killed innocent worshippers belonging to different communities. This is against humanity. It is brutality on the level of animals."
Mr Jatak held a ministerial role in the Balochistan provincial government, as a representative of the PPP, which headed the last national coalition government.
"When people came outside on the stairs, the terrorists were already present there," Mohammad Adnan, a witness, told the Associated Press news agency. "They started shooting and targeting many people. Two children were among the martyrs and around 20 people were injured."
No group has said it carried out the shooting, which took place near Quetta's eastern bypass.
Four people died at the scene while the others succumbed to their injuries in hospital, a senior local police official, Bashir Ahmad Brohi told the AFP news agency.
"The government should take strong action on the Quetta incident," said Hafiz Muneeb, one worshipper at a mosque in the capital, Islamabad. "We are depressed that such a tragic incident happened."
Another worshipper, Abdul Rehman, said Eid al-Fitr was a day of love, unity and brotherhood. "People should unite to spread love and remove hatred. We should aim for peace and stability in the country," he said.
I was the target... This is against humanity. It is brutality on the level of animals”
Ali Madad Jatak
Former Balochistan minister
Quetta has seen a recent surge in sectarian violence, mostly targeting the Shia Muslim minority.
Quetta is the provincial capital of Balochistan, which is plagued not just by the Taliban's insurgency, but also by sectarian in-fighting between Sunnis and Shias and a rebellion by Baloch separatists.
On Tuesday militants from the separatist Baloch Liberation Army shot dead 13 bus passengers 70 kilometres (44 miles) south-east of Quetta.
The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to power in June after promising to negotiate with militant groups.
Officials said they were preparing a comprehensive security strategy, bringing together delegates from all political parties, in an effort to combat violent extremism.
However the strategy has not yet been released, and no all-party meeting has yet been scheduled.
Pakistan: plus de trente morts dans une attaque suicide à Quetta
Les préparatifs de l'Aïd assombries par un attentat au Pakistan. L'attaque suicide a fait plus de euronews, la chaîne d'informations la plus regardée en Europe.
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Les préparatifs de l'Aïd assombries par un attentat au Pakistan. L'attaque suicide a fait plus de trente morts. Elle s'est produite devant la mosquée du commissariat de Quetta, lors des funérailles d'un policier tué plus tôt dans la journée.
Quetta est la capitale du Balouchistan, une province frontalière de l'Afghanistan où sévissent les talibans, mais aussi des insurgés sécessionnistes.
Un haut responsable de la police locale a péri lors de l'attaque.
C'est le dernier jour du ramadan au Pakistan et la province a déjà connu une vague de violences en début de semaine. Le pays connaît en général un regain d'attaques depuis l'élection en mai du nouveau Premier ministre Nawaz Sharif.
L'attentat n'a pas été revendiqué, mais les attaques suicides correspondent plus au mode opératoire des talibans qu'à celui des séparatistes.
L'explosion a aussi fait plus de soixante blessés. Parmi les victimes, on compte cinq policiers, mais aussi des enfants.
Pakistan violence: second attack in Quetta in as many days
10 people were killed and 30 wounded in an attack on a Sunni Muslim mosque in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta. This "fresh" attack comes right after the death of 37 people on Thursday, in the very same city. These incidents raise a fistful of questions, as for the responsability: Armen Georgian points separatists or Islamists groups, such as the Balushi separatists, very powerful in the surroundings of Quetta and the Pakistan - India border. According to the analyst, these groups develop themselves during the "absence of power", while the newly elected government did not have an entire grip on the Taliban issue.
Exclusive: Pakistan Quetta suicide bomber kills at least 30 people
A suicide bombing at a funeral for a policeman in south-western Pakistan has killed at least 28 people including a senior police officer, police say.
They say that the blast in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, also wounded at least 50 people.
Quetta police chief Mir Zubair Mehmood told the AP news agency that the bomber detonated his explosives just before the funeral service was about to start.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
However suspicion is likely to fall on the Taliban who have in the past carried out numerous suicide bombings in Balochistan.
The province is plagued not just by the Taliban's insurgency, but also by sectarian in-fighting between Sunnis and Shias and a rebellion by Baloch separatists.
On Tuesday separatist gunmen killed at least 13 bus passengers near Quetta.
'Big blast'
Deputy Inspector General of police Fayaz Sumbal, one of the most senior officers in Quetta, was among those killed, police say.
They told the AP news agency that Mr Sumbal spotted the suicide bomber before he detonated his explosives and asked police officers quickly to search him. As officers began to question the bomber, he blew himself up.
The Medi in Islamabad say that heavy security in Quetta, believed to be the hiding place of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, was not enough to prevent the bomber from striking.
The incident was captured live by some television channels which were covering the funeral. Most of those killed and wounded were policemen.
The funeral was for a policeman who was shot and killed as he travelled through Quetta earlier on Thursday with his children, who were both injured.
Witness said that in the immediate aftermath of the attack weeping policemen wandered among the blood and body parts, looking for colleagues or sat, shocked and in silence, amid abandoned shoes and other belongings.
Policeman Mohammad Hafiz told the AFP news agency of his horror after the bomber - wearing a jacket packed with ball bearings and shrapnel - detonated his device.
"I was inside the mosque and we were lining up for the funeral prayers when a big blast took place," he said.
"I came out and saw injured and dead bodies lying on the ground"
"I have no words to explain what I've seen. It was horrible."
Correspondents say that the bomb marks the culmination of a bloody Ramadan in Pakistan, with more than 90 people killed in at least 11 attacks during the month.
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