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Politics As Usual
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05-31-2004, 07:12 PM
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1047
Not Me
Too Lazy to Google
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,460
More Than a Dozen Killed in Pakistan Mosque Attack
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/31/in...partner=GOOGLE
The Sunnis are killing the Shiites in Pakistan now and attacking their mosques. Apparently in retaliation for the Shiites killing a Sunni cleric. Ah, what a peaceful religion!
LAHORE, Pakistan, May 31 — At least 14 people were killed and 38 wounded when a powerful bomb ripped through a Shiite mosque in Karachi today, according to police officials. Private media gave a higher count with at least 18 dead and 50 people wounded.
A wave of violence gripped the city after the bomb blast as enraged protestors clashed with the police and went on a rampage, according to media reports.
Police officials said it was too early to say if the bombing was a suicide attack. There was speculation that it was revenge for the killing Sunday of a Sunni cleric.
Pakistan has witnessed a spate of terrorist attacks in recent times, thought to be carried out by local militants in collaboration with Al Qaeda.
The southern port city of Karachi, the largest city in the country, with a population of 14 million, the commercial and economic center of the country, has been particularly hard hit by ethnic and sectarian violence.
Today's bombing was the fourth incident of terrorism in a single month in Karachi. The president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who has vowed a crackdown against Islamic militancy and banned several sectarian groups, expressed his deep concern and vowed to take a serious note of the worsening situation in Karachi.
Karachi had barely recovered from the protests of Sunday, when unidentified assailants gunned down a leading Sunni cleric in Karachi. Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, the slain cleric, was considered to be one of the most powerful Sunni voices of the country. Mr. Shamzai's assassination sparked protest from his thousands of supporters, mostly students at his schools, who clashed with the police and ransacked public property.
Some government officials speculated that today's blast could be an act of retaliation.
In a peculiar pattern of violence, Sunni leaders have been targeted, while Shiite mosques have been targets of suicide bombings.
Sunnis make up 77 percent of the country's population of 150 million. Shiites make up 20 percent.
A police officer was killed and 26 people were wounded on May 26, when two car bombs went off outside a school in Karachi, near the residence of the American consul general. On May 7, 22 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque.
The powerful bomb blast today occurred at about 7:45 p.m at Imambargah Ali Raza Mosque on the M.A. Jinnah Road, an upscale neighborhood. . According to eyewitnesses, the blast was so powerful that it resonated through a large surrounding area and its intensity shook the walls of the Shiite mosque, blowing out windows and created a crater in the dome. Television footage showed shattered glass on the floor and damaged furniture and ambulances taking worshippers with severe burns to hospitals.
After the bomb blast, angry youths gathered on various roads of Karachi and damaged public and private property, the police said. The police used tear gas and batons to disperse the rioters in various parts of the city. The police said they and Rangers also exchanged gunfire with enraged protesters in different districts of Karachi. Dozens of people were reported to be injured.
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Last edited by Not Me; 05-31-2004 at
07:15 PM
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