Pakistan launches crackdown after 80 killed in shrine attack

Pakistan has closed two of its borders with Afghanistan following the worst terrorist attack on its soil since 2014.

At least 80 people were killed and 250 wounded when a suicide bomber, claimed by Islamic State, targeted a shrine in southern Sehwan on Thursday.

"The floor of the shrine was still stained with blood on Friday morning as dozens of protesters pushed past police pickets demanding to be allowed to continue to worship there," reports Al Jazeera. At least 20 children are believed to be among the dead.

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General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan's army chief, said: "Each drop of the nation's blood shall be avenged and avenged immediately. No more restraint for anyone."

More than 30 militants have been killed overnight and "scores" have been arrested in a security crackdown, says the BBC. The Pakistan Armed Forces has also demanded Afghanistan takes "immediate action" to prevent terrorists from hiding across the border.

Military spokesman Asif Ghafoor tweeted: "Recent terrorist acts are being executed on directions from hostile powers and from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. We shall defend and respond."

Afghan officials have denied the accusation.

Pakistan has demanded 76 wanted terrorists believed to be hiding in Afghan territory are handed over.

"Thursday's attack came after one of the bloodiest weeks in recent memory in Pakistan," says Al Jazeera. More than a dozen people were killed at a rally in the eastern city of Lahore on Monday in a suicide bombing claimed by a group linked to the Taliban.

Two police officers were also killed in the wave of attacks as they attempted to defuse a bomb on Tuesday in Quetta.

Thursday's attack on the Sehwan shrine attack is the deadliest in Pakistan since December 2014, when 154 were killed at a school in Peshawar. Most of the victims were school children.