Dozens killed in Pakistan bombings day before elections

At least 26 people are dead and more than two dozen others are injured after two bombings Wednesday in southwest Pakistan, one day before the country is set to hold parliamentary elections, officials said.

The first attack killed at least 15 people at the election office of Asfandyar Khan, an independent candidate, in Baluchistan province, provincial government spokesperson Jan Achakzai said, according to The Associated Press. 

Another blast later Wednesday killed at least 11 people at the elections office of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, also located in Baluchistan, per Achakzai and local authorities. 

Jamiat Ulema Islam, known for supporting the Afghan Taliban, is one of Pakistan's top radical Islamist parties. It operates religious schools across the country where many of Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders studied. However, the party has been attacked in recent years by the Islamic State and other groups.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came at a particularly tense time for the region. Last week, imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was sentenced to another 14 years in prison. Last month, Iran targeted Pakistan with a missile attack, and Islamabad retaliated with a strike of its own in Iran. 

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