Suicide blast kills 26 Shiites in Pakistan
Source: Agencies |
February 18, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A SUICIDE bomber detonated his explosive vest outside a mosque in a Shiite neighborhood in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram tribal region yesterday, killing at least 26 people, and wounding 50 others, officials said.
Three more people were killed when police shot at protesters from the Shiite community after the bombing. A curfew was imposed on the town.
The bomber struck outside the mosque in a busy market in Parachinar, the main town in Kurram, after Friday prayers, in the latest attack by Sunni militants against minority Shiites.
Kurram, the only part of Pakistan's border region that has a significant Shiite population, has been racked by sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite tribes. The Taliban and al-Qaida's virulent anti-Shiite ideology has meant years of bloody fighting.
Fazal Saeed, leader of a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the latest attack in Kurram, near the Afghan border. "We have targeted the Shiite community of Parachinar because they were involved in activities against us."
Shiite Muslims are a minority sect of Islam, arising from a dispute over the successor to the Prophet Mohammad 1,400 years ago. Many extreme Sunni Muslims consider them apostates.
Three more people were killed when police shot at protesters from the Shiite community after the bombing. A curfew was imposed on the town.
The bomber struck outside the mosque in a busy market in Parachinar, the main town in Kurram, after Friday prayers, in the latest attack by Sunni militants against minority Shiites.
Kurram, the only part of Pakistan's border region that has a significant Shiite population, has been racked by sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite tribes. The Taliban and al-Qaida's virulent anti-Shiite ideology has meant years of bloody fighting.
Fazal Saeed, leader of a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the latest attack in Kurram, near the Afghan border. "We have targeted the Shiite community of Parachinar because they were involved in activities against us."
Shiite Muslims are a minority sect of Islam, arising from a dispute over the successor to the Prophet Mohammad 1,400 years ago. Many extreme Sunni Muslims consider them apostates.
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