At least 15 people including a child were killed and dozens of
others injured Monday in a powerful bomb blast in a mosque in
Pakistan's restive port city of Karachi, according to Rizwan Edhi,
a senior official of a relief group named the Edhi
Foundation.?
This has been the second blast against Shiites in Karachi in
less than one month. Twenty-two people were killed and more than
100 injured in an explosion at a mosque for Shiites early this
month.
Witnesses said that an unidentified man planted a bomb in the
mosque and it exploded when Shiites worshipers were performing
evening prayers.
The blast created panic and people were seen fleeing from the
area.
The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals. Some of them were
stated to be in critical condition.
No one claimed responsibility for the blast. However, the police
suspected that it could have a link to the assassination of a Sunni
Muslim scholar.
Renowned religious scholar Mufti Zizamuddin Shamzai was killed
Sunday in Karachi, which triggered wild violence across the
city.
Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali condemned the dastardly act of
terrorism. Expressing his deep anguish, Jamali said the provincial
government should move swiftly to control the current wave of
terrorism in Karachi.
He said those responsible for these acts should be apprehended
at the earliest and awarded exemplary punishment.
Jamali directed the Sindh provincial authorities to beef up
security all over the city and every effort should be made to
protect the life and property of the people.
(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2004)