Pakistan: Death toll from attacks on June 23 rise to 85 /update 2

Event

Pakistani officials announced on Saturday, June 24, that at least 85 people have died from the multiple terrorist attacks on the previous day. Health officials in Parachinar, located in the Federally Administer Tribal Areas, said that 67 people were killed by the bombings in the town on Friday, June 23. At least 261 victims were also wounded in the attacks in Parachinar, Quetta, and Karachi. Lashkar-e Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the bombing in Parachinar.

Context

The Quetta region of Balochistan province, located in north-central Pakistan, has been wracked by violence in recent months and years due in large part to its position along a prominent arms smuggling route and proximity to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Car bombs, suicide bombings, and armed attacks are common, and often target the Balochistan Frontier Corps, local police forces, and lawyers. Three policemen were killed by gunmen in a June 11 attack on a security checkpoint on Quetta's main thoroughfare, Saryab Road. The Al-Alami faction of the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility.

Security forces prevented a major terror attack in Parachinar on May 12 when border guards fired at a vehicle they identified as a potential threat attempting to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan. The shots fired at the vehicle detonated explosives hidden inside it. On March 31, 23 people were killed after a car bomb detonated in the town around midday. Previously, 25 people died and 87 were wounded when a bomb went off during peak business hours at the crowded vegetable market on January 21.

Advice

Due to a high threat from terrorism, as well as kidnapping and sectarian violence, throughout Pakistan, some Western governments advise their citizens against nonessential travel to the country, where foreign nationals, in particular Westerners, may be directly targeted.