In Pakistan, local television is reporting that scores of people have been killed in a bomb blast at a Shiite mosque in the eastern Pakistani province of Punjab. Private Express TV quotes police sources as saying that Sunday's blast left at least 30 people dead and another 150 injured.
A top security official says the attacker set off his explosives on Sunday at a religious congregation in Chakwal. That's about 90 kilometers southeast of Pakistan's capital of Islamabad. No one has claimed responsibility for it.
The Pakistani Prime Minister condemned the attack, saying it was masterminded by people against the state.
Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistani PM, said, "They want to destabilize our country for their own agenda. I think our people are determined and it is our duty to eliminate terrorism from its roots."
Violence in Pakistan has spread well beyond the dangerous Afghan border region. Recent attacks include Saturday's suicide bombing in Islamabad killing eight paramilitary personnel. And also last week's commando-style attack against a police academy in Lahore.
A senior Pakistan Taliban commander claimed responsibility for both attacks. The country's frequent sectarian violence has been dominated by Sunni militant attacks on minority Shiites.
Most militant attacks take place in the area near the Afghan border. Taliban and al-Qaida militants have established bases there, poised to strike against US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The worst attack this year happened last month, killing 48 people and wounding scores more.
Taliban militants have threatened to carry out more attacks, unless the US ends drone missile attacks against them.
(CCTV April 6, 2009)
