Pakistan blast: Parachinar bomb leaves at least 24 dead
At least 24 people have been killed and more than 70 injured in a blast outside a mosque in north-west Pakistan. The explosion happened in the city of Parachinar, a mainly Shia Muslim area on the Afghan border. Reports say a car packed with explosives was left near the women's entrance of the mosque as people gathered for Friday prayers. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), said it had carried out the attack. Many shops and vehicles close to the mosque were damaged in the powerful blast. "People were screaming for help... When I looked back everything was filled with dust," shopkeeper Sardar Hussain told AFP news agency. Kamran Ali told the Associated Press news agency he was inside his shop when the blast happened. "My shop partially collapsed and I was unable to move for the next 30 minutes or so, and then residents brought me to hospital," he said. The Pakistani Army sent a helicopter to help take the injured to ho...