28 killed in Pakistan election violence

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Some 28 people were killed and 30 injured in a suspected suicide attack outside a polling station in southwestern Pakistan as the nation casts ballots in general elections, police and local media reported Wednesday.

A suspected suicide bomber, acting alone, tried to enter a polling station on the eastern outskirts of Quetta, capital of the southwestern Balochistan province, but blew himself up when he was tackled by security personnel, local broadcaster Express News reported.

The blast took place near a long queue of voters, the channel reported.

City police chief Abdul Razzak Cheema told reporters that the dead included five policemen.

Authorities fear a rise in the death toll as several injured were in critical condition.

Another explosion rocked a polling station in the Larkana district of the southern Sindh province, the hometown of slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, injuring four people, Express TV reported.

Clashes between party activists were also reported from several cities, injuring a dozen people, the channel reported.