Islamic State claims responsibility for Pakistan suicide bomb which killed 54 | World News

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan which killed 54 people.

The bomb went off at an election rally for a pro-Taliban cleric on Sunday.

Nearly 200 people were injured in the explosion.

Earlier today hundreds of mourners carried caskets draped in colourful cloths to burial sites.

IS, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement on its Amaq website.

It said the attack was part of the group’s continuing war against forms of democracy it deems to be against Islam.

Those killed in the bombing included at least five children.

The attack appears to reflect divisions between different Islamist groups. The groups have a strong presence in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

The bombing targeted the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.

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