Suicide bombing kills 57 in Pakistan
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Wednesday, 12 April 2006: 10.17 CET) - At least 57 people have been killed and scores of others injured in a suicide bomb attack targeting a religious Sunni congregation in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.
The explosion occurred late on Tuesday on a stage set up for some 35,000 worshippers who had gathered to mark the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.
Three prominent Sunni religious leaders were among those killed, reports said.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but police suspect sectarian motives.
After the blast, riots shook the city, with angry crowds rampaging through the streets, lashing out at police for failing to protect the congregation.
Pakistani police said they believed that attack had been carried out by two suicide bombers and that part of the body of one of the suspected attackers had been found.
Police also told reporters that the attackers appeared to have climbed onto the wooden stage and then approached Sunni leaders before detonating the bombs.
Pakistani military president General Pervez Musharraf condemned the attack.
Police said shops and businesses would be closed on Wednesday as police investigate a bomb attack.
Karachi has been the scene of sporadic violence in recent times. In early March, a suicide car bomber killed at least five people, including a US diplomat, and wounded 24 others in an attack outside the US consulate there.
It was the second attack on the US consulate in Karachi in five years. In June 2002, a car bombing killed 14 Pakistanis outside the building.
Last November, at least six people were killed and more than 15 others injured in a massive car bomb explosion targeting a US-owned fast-food restaurant and two five-star hotels in Karachi.
The attack nearly destroyed a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise and damaged the nearby Pearl Continental and Sheraton hotels.
KFC outlets in Karachi have been targets of bomb attacks in the recent past. The city has been the scene of several other attacks blamed on Islamic extremists opposed to Pakistani military president Pervez Musharraf and Western interests in the region.
In early September, bombs exploded in two fast food restaurants in Karachi, injuring several people. The explosions hit a KFC restaurant and a McDonald’s outlet.
However, Tuesday explosion targeting the Sunni congregation may be linked to sectarian violence, police said.
And Karachi is no stranger to sectarian violence, either. Last May, at least 11 people were killed and some 40 others injured in a suicide attack on a Shi’ite mosque in the port city and in countrywide riots that followed the attack.
In May last year, protesters set fire to a KFC outlet in Karachi, killing six people, in an apparent response to an attack on a Shi’ite mosque in which five people died.
Also last May in the capital, Islamabad, 20 people were killed and 80 others injured in a bomb blast at a Shi'ite shrine.
The explosion occurred late on Tuesday on a stage set up for some 35,000 worshippers who had gathered to mark the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.
Three prominent Sunni religious leaders were among those killed, reports said.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but police suspect sectarian motives.
After the blast, riots shook the city, with angry crowds rampaging through the streets, lashing out at police for failing to protect the congregation.
Pakistani police said they believed that attack had been carried out by two suicide bombers and that part of the body of one of the suspected attackers had been found.
Police also told reporters that the attackers appeared to have climbed onto the wooden stage and then approached Sunni leaders before detonating the bombs.
Pakistani military president General Pervez Musharraf condemned the attack.
Police said shops and businesses would be closed on Wednesday as police investigate a bomb attack.
Karachi has been the scene of sporadic violence in recent times. In early March, a suicide car bomber killed at least five people, including a US diplomat, and wounded 24 others in an attack outside the US consulate there.
It was the second attack on the US consulate in Karachi in five years. In June 2002, a car bombing killed 14 Pakistanis outside the building.
Last November, at least six people were killed and more than 15 others injured in a massive car bomb explosion targeting a US-owned fast-food restaurant and two five-star hotels in Karachi.
The attack nearly destroyed a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise and damaged the nearby Pearl Continental and Sheraton hotels.
KFC outlets in Karachi have been targets of bomb attacks in the recent past. The city has been the scene of several other attacks blamed on Islamic extremists opposed to Pakistani military president Pervez Musharraf and Western interests in the region.
In early September, bombs exploded in two fast food restaurants in Karachi, injuring several people. The explosions hit a KFC restaurant and a McDonald’s outlet.
However, Tuesday explosion targeting the Sunni congregation may be linked to sectarian violence, police said.
And Karachi is no stranger to sectarian violence, either. Last May, at least 11 people were killed and some 40 others injured in a suicide attack on a Shi’ite mosque in the port city and in countrywide riots that followed the attack.
In May last year, protesters set fire to a KFC outlet in Karachi, killing six people, in an apparent response to an attack on a Shi’ite mosque in which five people died.
Also last May in the capital, Islamabad, 20 people were killed and 80 others injured in a bomb blast at a Shi'ite shrine.
posted by Marko at 4/12/2006 06:35:00 AM
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