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Mosque bombing in southwest Pakistan kills four

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QUETTA: Pakistani police say a powerful bomb went off inside a mosque during Friday prayers on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta, killing at least four worshippers and wounding 20.

Abdul Ali, a local police chief, says the bomb was apparently planted inside the mosque and was remotely detonated. He says the casualties have been taken to nearby hospitals in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Pakistani militants have been blamed for previous such attacks in Baluchistan.

Separatist groups also often target security forces in the impoverished province in a bid to get a larger share of provincial resources and wealth or outright autonomy from Islamabad.

Pakistan's government claims it has quelled the insurgency, but violence has continued.

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