Pakistan blast kills 35
(CNN) -- A car bomb exploded early Thursday during a celebration of Islamic militants in the central Pakistan city of Multan, killing at least 35 people and wounding dozens more, police and hospital sources said.
Police inspector general Talat Mahmood told CNN it appears the car bomb was detonated by a remote control.
The blast rocked the area at around 4:30 a.m. (2330 GMT Wednesday) and caused a nearby transformer to blow up, making people there initially think two bombs had gone off, Mahmood said.
He said five police were among the wounded, and that the death toll is expected to rise. Hospitals have been put in on alert to treat the wounded.
The bomb went off as 2,500 militants were leaving a celebration commemorating the anniversary of their leader's death. Mahmood said the car was parked at one of two exits.
Maulana Azam Tariq -- the chief of the banned Sunni extremist group, Sipah-e-Sahaba -- was shot dead in broad daylight a year ago in Islamabad. Celebrations to mark the death have been taking place across Pakistan.
There has been no claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack.
Multan is an industrial center with about 750,000 residents in central Pakistan, about 300 miles (483 km) south of Islamabad.
