Death toll from Pakistan's Quetta blast rises to 25 (Ld)

Islamabad, Nov 9 (IANS) The death toll of a blast that hit a railway station in Quetta city of Pakistan's Balochistan province on Saturday rose to 25, health and police officials said.

Confirming the casualties, Waseem Baig, media coordinator of the provincial health ministry of Balochistan, told that the death toll increased after at least five injured people succumbed to injuries during treatment.

The health official said that 62 people sustained injuries in the bomb blast, and dozens have been shifted to a military hospital in the city for better treatment, adding that the death toll might further rise as several among the injured are in critical condition, Xinhua news agency reported.

After the attack, the authorities started snap-checking in various parts of the city with an additional contingent of police and law enforcers deployed for increased security.

The proscribed group Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack in a press release shared with media and on social media platforms.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and directed the hospital administration to provide the best possible medical treatment to the injured people.

--IANS

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