Meanwhile..In the home of the Islam a bomb
Karachi Mosque Blast Kills at Least 13, Wounds 80
!
By Aamir Ashraf
KARACHI (Reuters) - A suspected suicide bomber blew up a crowded Shi'ite mosque in the business district of the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Friday, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 80, police and officials said.
Reuters Photo
More than 100 people were packed into the mosque for Friday afternoon prayers when the blast rocked the building in the fourth bomb attack in five days in Pakistan, a frontline state in the U.S.-led war on terror.
The mosque was badly damaged. Pools of blood dotted the floor and spattered the walls and pieces of flesh were scattered on the ground.
Karachi police chief Tariq Jamaeel said at least 13 people were killed and more than 80 wounded. Rohena Hasan, a doctor at the state-run Civil Hospital said more than 20 were in intensive care.
"This is a big incident," said provincial security adviser Aftab Sheikh. "It is a blatant act of terrorism. It's the work of enemies of peace. They targeted innocent worshippers."
Provincial police chief Syed Kamal Shah said it was too early to confirm the details of the explosion.
"But there is a likelihood that it was a suicide bombing," he said. "There is no crater on the floor and the explosion occurred in the front rows of themain worship area."
Ali Abbas, his clothes smeared with blood, said he was in the third row of worshippers when there was an explosion and something hit him hard on the back.
"It was part of a body." he said. "There was chaos. All of us ran outside, jumping over the injured and human remains."
It was the just latest attack on a Shi'ite mosque in Pakistan, which has long been racked for decades by violence between the minority Islamic sect and militant majority Sunnis.
Police and paramilitary troops cordoned off the area, while Shi'ite Muslim protesters hurled stones and set fire to cars while shouting slogans demanding protection for their community.
"We are at the mercy of terrorists who are getting bolder because they are not being punished," said Shi'ite Muslim cleric Hasan Turabi. "Now we have to defend ourselves."
The mosque is inside the compound of a historic school, the Sindh Madarsatul Islam (Sindh School of Islam), where Pakistan's founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, received his early education.
An employee of a brokerage house said he heard two explosions. "Our office on the 14th floor was shaken," he said. "We saw plumes of smoke, blood and bodies."
ATTACKS RATTLE SOUTHWEST
In March, 44 people were killed and 150 wounded in an attack on a Shi'ite mosque in the southwestern city of Quetta that was blamed on Sunni militants.
Earlier on Friday, three people were wounded in Quetta, capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, when a small bomb exploded opposite a hotel due to host a weekend investment conference.
Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali had been expected at the city's Serena Hotel on Saturday to chair the meeting.
However, Jamali canceled his plans to attend before the blast due to commitments in Islamabad, said Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
The chief minister of Baluchistan, Jam Mir Mohammad Yusuf, called the explosion an attempt to sabotage the meeting.
Police said the blast was caused by a small time-bomb attached to a bicycle and Baluchistan chief minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yusuf called it an attempt to sabotage the meeting.
Baluchistan is one of Pakistan's poorest regions and has been frequently troubled by Islamic militancy and tribal violence.
On Thursday, another small bomb exploded outside the ticket office of Quetta railway station, but caused no injuries.
On Monday, a car bomb exploded in the fishing town of Gawadar in the far south of Baluchistan, killing three Chinese technicians working on a project to build an major port.
Police have detained 17 people in connection with that attack, but have yet to make a formal arrest. (With reporting by Amir Zia and Tahir Ikram) |
