IS claims Pakistan polling station blast

A blast near a Pakistani polling station that's left at least 24 people dead has been claimed by Islamic State.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an explosion near a polling station in Quetta, Pakistan, according to the group's AMAQ news agency.

At least 24 people were killed and 35 injured in the blast in the western city of Quetta on Wednesday, which happened as Pakistanis vote in a knife-edge national election.

The group said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber but did not provide further detail or evidence for its claim.

Earlier this month, a suicide bomber killed 149 people at an election rally in the town of Mastung, also in Baluchistan province.

The attack was claimed by Islamic State militants.

About 371,000 soldiers have been stationed at polling stations across the country to prevent attacks, nearly five times the number deployed at the last election in 2013.


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Source: AAP


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