30 die in Pakistan blast
on 28/12 at 20h45
by Hasan Mansoor - KARACHI (AFP)
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A suicide bomber on Monday targeted Pakistan's largest procession of Shiite Muslims on their holiest day, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens more in defiance of a major security crackdown.
The blast sparked riots in Karachi, the financial capital, where angry mourners went on the rampage, throwing stones at ambulances, torching cars and shops and firing bullets into the air, sparking appeals for calm.
Pakistan had deployed tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces, fearing sectarian clashes or militant attacks on Ashura processions, when Shiites whip themselves to mourn the seventh-century killing of Imam Hussein.
The latest bombing underscored the extent of the volatility in Pakistan, where militant attacks have killed more than 2,760 people since July 2007 and which Washington has put on the frontline of its war on Al-Qaeda.
"The blast was so huge that I felt my hearing had gone, but then I started hearing cries of injured people and saw pieces of human flesh and blood on the road," said Abbas Ali, 35, one of the mourners thrown to the ground.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik blamed Tehreek-e-Taliban, against which the military has been waging a major operation near the Afghan border, and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, another of Pakistan's most feared Islamist networks.
"At least 30 people have been killed so far in the suicide attack and 63 others have been injured," provincial health minister Saghir Ahmed told AFP.
"We have declared emergency at all hospitals in Karachi and doctors are making every effort to save the injured. The situation is very grim," he added.
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road, where the attack happened, was ablaze with burning cars and motorcycles, and covered in debris from buildings attacked by rioters, said an AFP correspondent.
Firefighters battled helplessly to quench the flames engulfing buildings and shopkeepers stood crying outside their businesses going up in smoke.
"We are using our maximum resources available to put out the fire which is still raging in the markets," said city mayor Mustafa Kamal.
Karachi has escaped most of the bomb attacks that have battered the northwest and other major cities.
Monday's attack was the deadliest in Karachi since a suicide bomber targeted the homecoming of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto -- who was assassinated two months later -- killing at least 139 people in October 2007.
on 28/12 at 20h45
by Hasan Mansoor - KARACHI (AFP)
_
Advertisement
A suicide bomber on Monday targeted Pakistan's largest procession of Shiite Muslims on their holiest day, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens more in defiance of a major security crackdown.
The blast sparked riots in Karachi, the financial capital, where angry mourners went on the rampage, throwing stones at ambulances, torching cars and shops and firing bullets into the air, sparking appeals for calm.
Pakistan had deployed tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces, fearing sectarian clashes or militant attacks on Ashura processions, when Shiites whip themselves to mourn the seventh-century killing of Imam Hussein.
The latest bombing underscored the extent of the volatility in Pakistan, where militant attacks have killed more than 2,760 people since July 2007 and which Washington has put on the frontline of its war on Al-Qaeda.
"The blast was so huge that I felt my hearing had gone, but then I started hearing cries of injured people and saw pieces of human flesh and blood on the road," said Abbas Ali, 35, one of the mourners thrown to the ground.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik blamed Tehreek-e-Taliban, against which the military has been waging a major operation near the Afghan border, and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, another of Pakistan's most feared Islamist networks.
"At least 30 people have been killed so far in the suicide attack and 63 others have been injured," provincial health minister Saghir Ahmed told AFP.
"We have declared emergency at all hospitals in Karachi and doctors are making every effort to save the injured. The situation is very grim," he added.
Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road, where the attack happened, was ablaze with burning cars and motorcycles, and covered in debris from buildings attacked by rioters, said an AFP correspondent.
Firefighters battled helplessly to quench the flames engulfing buildings and shopkeepers stood crying outside their businesses going up in smoke.
"We are using our maximum resources available to put out the fire which is still raging in the markets," said city mayor Mustafa Kamal.
Karachi has escaped most of the bomb attacks that have battered the northwest and other major cities.
Monday's attack was the deadliest in Karachi since a suicide bomber targeted the homecoming of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto -- who was assassinated two months later -- killing at least 139 people in October 2007.
