More fallout from the Lal Masjid showdown. From AFP (thanks to DFS):
ISLAMABAD : A suicide bomber blew himself up on Tuesday at a rally where hundreds had gathered to hear Pakistan’s suspended top judge speak, killing 15 people and plunging the country further into crisis.
The attack in Islamabad ramped up the pressure on President Pervez Musharraf on two fronts – his suspension of chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and a wave of violence that has followed the storming of the radical Red Mosque.
The powerful blast splattered human remains outside a marquee decorated with balloons ahead of the rally in support of Chaudhry, who was not present at the time. He arrived later and joined lawyers in prayer for the victims.
Hospital officials said 15 people were killed in the bombing, including two women, and 43 injured, five of them police. Many of the injured had their clothes ripped off by the explosion and suffered horrific burns.
“I saw with my own eyes bodies being ripped apart and hands and arms flying through the air,” Shafqat Hayat, chief legal advisor to cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan, told AFP at the scene.