Suicide bombing kills 9 at Pakistani Shi'ite mosque

They're-Going-To-Have-To-Overcome-That Update. "Blast at Pakistan Shiite mosque kills 9," by Riaz Khan for the Associated Press:

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suspected Sunni extremist opened fire in a Shiite mosque Thursday and then blew himself up, killing nine people on the eve of a religious festival that has been scarred by sectarian violence in the past.

The blast in northwestern Pakistan wounded at least 20 people including a prominent Shiite cleric, adding to tensions in the country as it prepares for parliamentary elections Feb. 18 that many predict will weaken President Pervez Musharraf's grip on power.

[...]

Arshad Ali, whose brother died in Thursday's blast, said the attacker was a man about 18 years old who walked into the crowded Imambargah Qasim Baig mosque, opened fire with a pistol and then blew himself up.

"People present there tried to stop him," Ali said, wailing and beating his chest in grief. "He took out a pistol, shot three times and then blew himself up."

It was not immediately clear whether any of the dead or wounded were hit by the gunfire.

Peshawar police chief Tanvir Sipra said nine people were killed, including a policeman who tried to stop the bomber from entering the mosque. A few policewomen were wounded, he said.

Prominent Shiite cleric Syed Rza Shah, who was wounded in the attack, had traveled to Peshawar from Rawalpindi to address a gathering at the mosque, said Mohammed Iqbal, another police official. Shah's deputy, Kalb-e-Abbas, was among the dead.

Posted by Marisol at January 17, 2008 3:35 PM
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