US condemns Quetta attack, offers help to Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday offered cooperation to Pakistan in catching the culprits responsible for the deadly Quetta bombing and denounced the terrorist attack which killed 70 people. 

In a press release, the US State Department’s statement condemned yesterday's attack on the hospital and sent condolences to the relatives of the victims.

“We send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, and we offer our assistance to Prime Minister Sharif as his government investigates and works to bring the murderers to justice,” the statement read.

“These brutal and senseless attacks only deepen our shared resolve to defeat terrorism around the world, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism,” the statement added.

AFP adds: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the "terrorist bombing" at a hospital in Pakistan on Monday, saying it was "particularly appalling" that the suicide attack targeted a group of mourners.

The bomber struck a crowd of some 200 people gathered at the Civil Hospital in Quetta after the fatal shooting of a senior local lawyer earlier in the day.

At least 70 people died in the attack and more than 100 were wounded.

"The targeting of mourners at a civilian hospital makes the attack particularly appalling," said Ban´s spokesman Farhan Haq.

Ban urged the Pakistani government to do its utmost to bring those behind the attack to justice.

The explosion took place when Balochistan Bar Association President Bilal Kasi's body was being brought to the emergency department. He was gunned down at Mano Jan Road earlier today. Former Balochistan Bar President Baz Muhammad Kakar was injured in the attack. He later succumbed to his wounds at the hospital.

Police had said that unknown men had opened fire after the blast. Panic tore through the hospital after the incident. The blast had occurred near the emergency department of the hospital.

Global terror outfit Daesh (Islamic State) and Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter group of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), both had claimed responsibility for the bombing.