An explosion ripped through a Shia mosque in Pakistan on Friday, just as worshippers were gathering for prayers. The blast killed 35 people and wounded dozens more, underscoring a growing tide of sectarian violence in the South Asian nation.
Attacks against religious minorities have been on the rise in Pakistan, where armed Sunni armed groups often target mosques frequented by Shia, whom the groups do not consider to be true Muslims.
Police said it was unclear what caused the explosion during Friday prayers at the mosque in the busy center of Shikarpur, a city in Pakistan's southern province of Sindh.
"We are trying to ascertain the nature of the blast," the city’s police chief Saqib Ismail Memon told Reuters. "A bomb disposal squad is examining the scene."