| Thats' about as surprising as finding a cream filling in an Oreo... |
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shiite Muslim mosque in the city's bustling downtown business district Friday, killing 15 people and wounding more than 150 in the latest of a series of attacks against Pakistan's Shiite minority, police said. The blast at the Hyderi mosque occurred just as worshipers were assembling for midday prayers shortly after 1 p.m. Witnesses said it shattered windows and sprayed the interior of the mosque with blood and human remains. "The body parts of the bomber and the people standing right next to him hit the 30-foot-high ceiling of the mosque," said Reza Kazim, who was at the mosque but escaped injury. Among those killed were the prayer leader and workers from nearby banks and offices.
After the attack, thousands of angry Shiites took to the streets in various Karachi neighborhoods, clashing with police, attacking government properties and torching government-owned vehicles. Police and paramilitary rangers were deployed on major thoroughfares, and Shiite groups declared Saturday a day of mourning. The Hyderi mosque is situated on the grounds of a historic school, Sindh Madrassa tul Islam, in the center of Karachi's main banking and business district. Tariq Jamil, the head of police operations in Karachi, said the bomber was standing in the middle of about 300 worshipers when he triggered the blast. Crowds that gathered after the bombing prevented ambulances from reaching some victims, authorities said. "Many of the dead were brought to us in private cars too late for any treatment," said Ashfaq Soomro, a physician at Karachi's Civil Hospital. "Some bodies were so mutilated that even their relatives found them difficult to identify." Senior security officials speculated that Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, a radical Sunni group known for its ties to al Qaeda, was behind the attack. "The attack carries Lashkar-i-Jhangvi's signature," said Syed Kamal Shah, the chief of police in Sindh province. "We had solid information that a small Lashkar band of suicide bombers were looking for a potent Shiite target in the city." |