QUETTA: At least 54 people were killed and 197 wounded on Friday in a suicide bombing targeting a Shiite rally in Quetta, police said.

Drone kills 7

US drone fired missiles at two targets in North Waziristan tribal region, killing seven militants, including two foreigners, intelligence officials said.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the bomb blast and called for an immediate inquiry into the incident. The US embassy also condemned the bombing.

The bomber was among the 450-strong crowd and detonated on reaching the main square in the city, according to police.

The explosion triggered chaotic scenes, with an angry mob starting fires and shooting into the air while others fled or lay on the ground to avoid the gunfire, they added.

“According to the reports collected from hospitals, 54 people have been killed and 197 have been injured,” Sardar Khan, chief of Quetta’s police control room, said.

Hours later, Pakistani Taliban took responsibility for the attack, saying it was revenge for killings of radical Sunni clerics by Shiites, further challenging the civilian government struggling to cope a month after the floods.

“We take pride in taking responsibility for the Quetta attack,” Qari Hussain Mehsud, the mentor of Taliban suicide bombers, told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.