U.S. condemns blasts in Quetta, Parachinar; offers support to Pakistan

Washington D.C. [United States], June 24 (ANI): The United States has condemned the attacks in Quetta and Parachinar, in which more than 30 people lost their lives and several others injured. "We offer our deepest condolences to the victims and their families. We will continue to work with the Government of Pakistan and our partners across the region to combat the threat of terrorism. We stand with the people of Pakistan and the broader South Asia region in their fight against terrorism," U.S. Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said. The death toll in two subsequent explosions at a densely populated area of Kurram Agency's Parachinar city has risen to 34. Earlier on Friday morning, at least 13 people including seven policemen were killed in a suicide blast at Shuhada Chowk in Quetta's Gulistan Road area. The twin blasts in Parachinar were reported to have occurred in Turi Market near Tal Adda, where a bus terminal is also located while the second explosion targeted rescuers and bystanders who rushed to aid those who had been hurt in the first blast, according to the Dawn News. The explosions targeted people shopping in the area and those heading out of the city ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, local political administration officials said. Kurram is the only Shia Muslim region in a predominantly Sunni country. Sunni hardliners, currently operating through different Taliban factions including the Islamic State group, consider them heretics and have often targeted them. In a deadly bombing in March this year, a blast outside an imambargah located in a busy Parachinar market claimed the lives of 24 people and left 90 others injured. (ANI)