Death toll reaches 5 in Pakistan hotel blast

An attack at a luxury hotel in Pakistan has been confirmed as a suicide car bombing, and the death toll has risen to five, police said Thursday.

In a statement, the counter-terrorism department said five people were killed and about a dozen wounded in Wednesday’s attack in the parking lot of the Serena hotel, in the southwestern city of Quetta. Four deaths had been initially reported.

Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.

Prime Minister Imran Khan described the bombing as “a cowardly terrorist attack.” In a tweet, Khan said his nation had “made great sacrifices in defeating terrorism & we will not to allow this scourge to rise again.”

Quetta is in Baluchistan province, where secessionist groups have staged a long-running insurgency to push for independence. The Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State groups also have a presence there.