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| India-Pakistan |
| Bombing kills 11, wounds 35 in Pakistan |
| 2007-01-27 |
| A suspected suicide attacker exploded a bomb near a Shiite Muslim mosque in this northwestern Pakistani city late Saturday, killing at least 11 people, including the city police chief, and wounding 35, police said. Most of the victims were police and municipal officials who were clearing the route for a procession of Shiites in a crowded old quarter of Peshawar, said police officer Aziz Khan. The procession had yet to begin. This weekend marks the start of the festival of Ashoura, Is it already time for the bloody rag festival? when Shiites mourn the 7th century death of the prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein. In the past the festival has been a target for sectarian attacks. The blast went off in a bazaar area about 200 yards from the mosque that was the starting point for the Shiite procession. It caused a power outage that left the city center in darkness, complicating rescue efforts. At the bomb site, investigators found what appeared to be two legs from a suicide attacker, police officer Raza Khan said. Eleven bodies and 35 wounded people were brought to Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, Aziz Khan said. The city's police chief, Malik Saab, was among the dead, said provincial police chief Sharif Virk. Hundreds of people crowded around the hospital seeking news on loved ones. By loudspeaker, hospital officials appealed for calm and blood donations. Aziz Khan had been on duty near the mosque when the bomb went off. "I thought my eardrums had burst. Then there were flames and the people were in panic. I remembered that there was a police contingent, so I went to see what had happened to my colleagues. Many were wounded in a bad way," he said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion will likely fall on Sunni extremists. Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani condemned the attack, saying it had been orchestrated by the "enemies of Pakistan, Islam and humanity." Members of the first two, enemy of the third. Most Pakistani Shiites and Sunnis co-exist peacefully, And I have a great investment for you, an Irish Bar in Quetta. but militant groups on both sides are blamed for sectarian attacks that claim scores of lives every year. Security is already high across Pakistan for Ashoura, amid fears that the sectarian violence in Iraq could stir up animosity between minority Shiites and majority Sunnis in Pakistan. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #4 meant to "cleverly" strike out sling blades....sh*t! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-01-27 18:10 |
| #3 This would be an excellent time to fill out some contracts on some of the more obnoxious turdlings in the area. Let's see how much they enjoy American-made IEDs. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-01-27 18:09 |
| #2 14 and counting as parts are matched up. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-01-27 16:50 |
| #1 blood donations? Shiites could call it part of teh festival....no needles, just swords and sling blades sickles |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-01-27 16:47 |