Death toll rises to 54 in suicide bombing at Pakistan political convention

July 31 (UPI) -- At least 54 people had died by Monday, including five children, and more than 100 were injured after a bombing at an Islamist political gathering over the weekend that targeted one of the country's major parties.

The explosion happened about 4:10 p.m. local time Sunday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bajaur district, in northwest Pakistan, where hundreds of party workers and local political leaders were gathered for a convention of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl.

The bomb detonated as one of the Khar party leaders was speaking to the unwitting crowd, killing Khar General Secretary Maulana Ziaullah Jan, and District Press Secretary Mujahid Khan, along with Khan's son.

Investigators with the Pakistani Counter Terrorism Department were examining the crime scene Monday as District Police Officer Nazir Khan announced the arrest of several suspects, whose identities were not released.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said the Islamic State was involved in the attack, but no militant group had claimed responsibility amid a recent wave of terror bombings across the country.

Those injured in Sunday's blast were rushed to hospitals in Bajaur and surrounding regions, while some of the critically wounded were airlifted to hospitals in neighboring Peshawar.

The Bajaur district borders Afghanistan near Peshawar and was once a major stage in the global war on terror.

Investigators said they uncovered terrorist activity in the Bajaur district and surrounding regions in June when federal agents killed three suspected ISIS militants.

Terror strikes across the country have killed at least 389 people since peace negotiations with ISIS broke down last November.

In January, an explosion inside a mosque at a police compound in Peshawar killed more than 80 deputies.

A bombing last week inside a mosque in the Jamrud area of Khyber district killed a police officer.

Many of the dead in Sunday's blast have not been publicly identified as the remains of 36 victims were handed over to relatives.

Peshawar Corps Commander Lt. Gen Hassan Azhar Hayat visited Hospital Khar to offer condolences to family members and to console the wounded.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the explosion, along with former Premier Imran Khan, KP Gov. Ghulam Ali and caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan.