Senior police officer Wazir Khan Nasir said the bomb was detonated by remote control in a Shiite Muslim-dominated residential area of Quetta. Women and children were among the victims, he said, adding that the death toll could rise. Officials said 130 people were wounded. Officials said most of the dead were from Pakistan's Shi'ite minority, which has been demanding protection from the government after attacks by militant groups led by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). "The explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device fitted to a motorcyle," said Wazir Khan Nasir, deputy inspector general of police in Quetta. He said 50 people were wounded. "This is a continuation of terrorism against Shi'ites."
More than 400 Shi'ite were killed in Pakistan last year, many by hitmen or bombs, and the perpetrators are almost never caught.
Last month, LeJ claimed responsibility for a bombing in Quetta that killed nearly 100 people, one of Pakistan's worst sectarian attacks.