dpa/Islamabad
The death toll from Friday's suicide bombing targeting an election rally in south-western Pakistan has climbed to 140, officials said.
Around 200 people were also wounded in the attack, which occurred in Mastung district, spokesman Shakeel Ahmad told dpa on Saturday.
"The number of dead is feared to increase," said Kamran Kassi, medical superintendent at Quetta's civil hospital. He told dpa that a number of injured were in critical condition.
Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, a candidate running for the provincial assembly, was among the dead, his family confirmed. He was the brother of Nawab Aslam Raisani, the former chief minister of Balochistan province.
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a campaign rally in Mastung, which is considered a stronghold for the extremist Islamic State group. Militants from the anti-Shia Lashkar-e Jhangvi militia are also active there.
Both Islamic State and a faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bombing was the deadliest attack in Pakistan this year, as officials feared more violence in the run-up to elections on July 25.
Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in a bomb-and-gun attack after an election rally ahead of 2008 polls.
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