Bomb kills Pakistani worshippers

By Zarar Khan
The Associated Press

SHAKIL ADIL / AP People walk amid rubble after a bomb exploded yesterday during evening prayers in a Shiite Muslim mosque in Karachi, Pakistan. The deadly blast may have been an act of revenge.

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The explosion at the Imam Bargah Ali Raza mosque was the latest in a series of terror attacks in Pakistan's largest city. It was not clear yet if it was the work of a suicide bomber.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdur Rauf Chaudhry said the bombing "could be a reaction to" the drive-by slaying of Nazamuddin Shamzai that triggered riots Sunday across this eastern city and stoked fears of more sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites.

Hundreds of Shiite youths rioted yesterday after the explosion at the Imam Bargah Ali Raza mosque, which came a day after unidentified gunmen killed Shamzai.

The rioters burned shops and vehicles and blocked highways and the main rail line. Police chief Kamal Shah said two men trying to steal an ambulance were shot and killed. Seven others were injured when police opened fire to disperse the crowd.

At the mosque, the blast cracked walls, destroyed an inner office and badly damaged a room where people wash up before praying. The mosque is located near the city center on Karachi's main highway.

Police Chief Asad Ashraf Malik said one body retrieved from the scene was being examined to determine whether it was that of a suicide bomber.

A worshipper in the mosque, Ghulam Ali, said he thought a bomb had been thrown inside from a passing car. He described hearing a thud and seeing a car speed away before the blast.

Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said President Gen. Pervez Musharraf expressed grief and would take an "important step" in response. He did not elaborate.

Karachi — Pakistan's largest city, with 14 million people — recently has seen both terrorism and sectarian violence. Two car bombings occurred near the U.S. Consul's residence last week. A May 7 suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque killed 20 people.

Police have formed a special task force to investigate the slaying of Shamzai, a cleric in his 70s who had been a strong supporter of the former Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan and had met al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.

Witnesses said as many as six gunmen, riding in two cars and on a motorcycle, sprayed Shamzai's car with bullets Sunday morning, killing him and wounding one of his sons, a nephew, a driver and a police bodyguard.

Much of Karachi's violence is blamed on Islamic militants, angered by Musharraf's support for the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism in Afghanistan, but clashes between rival Sunni and Shiite Muslims are also common.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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