Muslim shrine blast death toll reaches 20
A suicide bombing at a Muslim shrine near Pakistan’s capital has killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens of others, witnesses said today.
Hundreds of Shiite Muslims were gathered at the Bari Imam shrine on the outskirts of Islamabad for a religious festival when the blast occurred.
An AP photographer at the scene counted at least 20 bodies, many of them in pieces, making it hard to give an exact figure. An intelligence official said at least 20 were killed and 150 were wounded.
Police officer Mohammed Sadique said the bomb exploded inside the shrine, where many Muslims have congregated this week for a five-day festival ending today.
Mukhtar Kazmi, who was running a clinic at the shrine, said they treated about 200 people.
The shrine is about half a mile from the official residence of Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
Police cordoned off the shrine and blocked access roads after the blast.
Hundreds of Shiite worshippers staged angry protests at the shrine and clashed with police after officers baton-charged the crowd to clear the way for ambulances.
Many of the Shiites also chanted, “Down with America!”
Ali Ahmad, 50, a worshipper who was injured in the blast, said he had seen a man dressed in a police uniform who was suspected to be the bomber walk inside as worshippers recited the Koran. Police at the shrine tried to stop the man but failed to prevent the attack, he said.
The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, but there are frequent sectarian attacks in this Islamic country by extremist elements of the Sunni and minority Shiite sects, although most live peacefully together.
The schism between Sunnis and Shiites dates back to a 7th century dispute over who was the true heir to the Prophet Mohammed.
In February, gunmen opened fire on mourners returning from a funeral near the shrine, sparking a shootout that killed three people and injured several others. The violence was believed linked to a feud between two families over control of the shrine.
Radical Islamic groups have planned rallies in Islamabad and other cities in Pakistan for later today to protest at the alleged desecration of the Koran by interrogators at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
| Related Stories: |
|
