Suicide Bomb Tears Through Pakistani Mosque; 15 Dead

VOA News

June 21, 2013
A bomb ripped through a Shi'ite Muslim religious center in northwestern Pakistan Friday, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others.

Police in Peshawar said a small group of militants first opened fire on the mosque and religious seminary as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers.  Officials said a suicide bomber then went inside.

Syed Muntizer Hussain witnessed the attack:

"We heard gunfire coming out from outside the mosque and we ran towards the exit. I saw a boy wearing black clothes, who had a beard and was around five feet tall, approaching the mosque interior and firing with the pistol in his hand. As he reached the inside of the mosque he blew himself up," said Hussain.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but radical Sunni Muslims who consider Shi'ites to be heretics have stepped up attacks against the minority Shi'ites in recent years.

Also Friday, gunmen in the southern city of Karachi ambushed and killed a lawmaker and his son as the two made their way home from Friday prayers.

Sajid Qureshi was a lawmaker for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the most powerful party in Karachi.

Fellow MQM lawmakers Jamal Ahmed demanded quick justice.

"Bearing the loss of a son, husband and father is painful as there is no replacement of them. We demand the authorities to arrest the culprits within 24 hours, try them and convict them in two days, and punish them in public," said Ahmed.