ISIS attack kills at least 88 people in Pakistan

An ISIS suicide bomber attacked a Sufi shrine in Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 88 people and injuring another 343 more. The dead included at least 20 women and nine children. The attack on the famed shrine of La Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan is the deadliest in the country in more than two years. ISIS claimed the bombing soon after in a statement circulated by its news agency. The group views Sufi shrines as a form of idolatry. Pakistani security forces today carried out country-wide raids on militant hideouts, arresting dozens and killing at least 39 suspected terrorists. The military also launched an artillery assault on eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. Officials blame Afghanistan for harboring ISIS militants, saying Thursday’s attack and other recent bombings in Pakistan have been masterminded by ISIS extremists hiding across the border.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.