Bomb kills 29 pilgrims near Pakistan shrine

At least 29 people were killed and scores injured when a powerful bomb ripped through a crowd of pilgrims near a Muslim shrine in south-western Pakistan.

The device exploded as thousands of devotees gathered at the memorial to a Sufi saint in the remote town of Fatahpur, about 300km from Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

It was not immediately clear if the bombing was a result of longstanding sectarian tensions between rival Shiite and Sunni sects or whether it was linked to a tribal rebellion in the region.

Between 10,000 and 20,000 people had gathered for an annual pilgrimage at the shrine of saint Cheesal Shah.