Pope Francis has condemned the suicide bombing at a hospital in Pakistan's southwest city of Quetta on Monday that killed at least 70 people and injured over 100, calling it a "senseless and brutal act".
"His Holiness Pope Francis sends heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the deceased, to the authorities and to the entire nation, as he offers the assurance of his prayers for the many injured victims of this senseless and brutal act of violence," read a telegram sent by Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Tuesday.
A faction of the Pakistani Taliban called Jammat-ul-Ahrar and the Islamic State group (IS) both claimed the attack on a crowd of some 200 people gathered at Quetta's Civil Hospital after the fatal shooting of a senior local lawyer earlier in the day.
Fifty-five lawyers and two TV cameramen were among the dead.
The bomber was wearing a suicide vest packed with eight kilogrammes of explosives and laced with ball bearings and shrapnel, according to Sarfaraz Bugti, home minister of surrounding Balochistan province.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier deplored the bombing saying it was “particularly appalling” that the suicide attack had targeted a group of mourners at a civilian hospital.
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