AL JAZEERA, BBC, LAHORE TIMES (Pakistan)
KARACHI/QUETTA/SWAT - Pakistan has declared three days of mourning after a string of bombings killed more than 100 people, while nine others died in separate shootings.
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Photo: CIA via Wikipedia
In the northwest city of Quetta, a suicide bomber entered a snooker club on Thursday that was close to a police station and a Shia mosque. As soon as the blast went off, the building collapsed. As rescue teams and reporters rushed to the scene, a second blast went off.
More than 80 people died and more than 120 were reported injured. Al Jazeera reports that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni Muslim extremist group, has claimed responsibility for the double bombing.
According to The Lahore Times , included in the death toll are four police officers, four rescue workers, a camera man and a news agency photographer.
A senior government official told the BBC that he believed the bombings were the group's reaction to incidents on Wednesday when a Sunni cleric was killed, and arms and ammunition were seized from a suspected Lashkar-e-Jhangvi hideout.
Another explosion at a religious gathering north of Peshawar, in the Swat Valley, killed 25 and wounded at least 70. The explosion occurred during a Muslim leader's speech where 1,500 people were gathered. The Lahore Times says that 25 kilograms of explosive material was used.
In addition to the explosions, nine people were shot in separate incidents in Karachi, the southern seaport and Pakistan's largest city.