Suicide bomber kills 43 Shiites in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan — A suicide bombing claimed by the Pakistani Taliban killed at least 43 Shiite Muslims at a procession in southwest Pakistan on Friday. The assault sharply drove up the toll of sectarian assaults in a country battered by massive flooding.

To the northwest in Pakistan's tribal regions, two suspected U.S. missile strikes killed at least seven people in an area controlled by one of the main groups battling Americans in neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Two other extremist bombings left at least two people dead and several wounded on a day convulsed by the violence that threatens the stability of Pakistan's weak civilian government, an essential Western ally in the fight against Islamist rebels.

The first attack of the day was a roadside bombing in the northwestern city of Peshawar that killed one police officer and wounded three others, officials said.

Hours later, a suicide attack on a mosque belonging to the minority Ahmadi sect killed at least one person and wounded several others in the nearby town of Mardan.

Soon after, a blast killed at least 43 people in the southwestern city of Quetta at a Shiite procession calling for solidarity with Palestinians, Quetta Police Chief Ghulam Shabir Sheikh said. He said 78 people were wounded and several were in critical condition.

Quetta police officer Hamid Shakil told local television six or seven of the dead appeared to have fatal bullet wounds and said they may have been killed by participants in the procession who opened fire wildly after the attack.

Pakistani Taliban commander Qari Hussain Mehsud said one of his insurgents carried out the suicide bombing.

"We proudly take its responsibility," he said. "Our war is against America and Pakistan security forces, but Shiites are also our target because they too are our enemies."

He said he was proud the United States had added the Pakistani Taliban to its international terrorism blacklist Wednesday, and he threatened attacks in the United States and Europe in coming days that would resemble a recent attempted car bombing in New York City's Times Square.

The attack in Quetta was the week's second claimed by the Pakistani Taliban and targeting Shiites, who by some estimates make up about 20 percent of the population in the mostly Sunni Muslim country, although figures are imprecise and disputed.

A triple suicide attack Wednesday night killed 35 people at a Shiite ceremony in the eastern city of Lahore.

Shiite leader Allama Abbas Kumaili said the attacks were a result of government failure, and he appealed to participants to remain peaceful despite anger that led to local unrest after the bombing.

Government officials have said they cannot protect outdoor gatherings from attacks, and Interior Minister Rehman Malik called Thursday for Shiites to hold religious ceremonies indoors.

The Pakistan Taliban are seeking to overthrow the country's government as it seeks to recover from flooding that has caused massive displacement, suffering and economic damage.

The floods, spawned by heavy rains weeks ago, have killed more than 1,600 people and affected about 20 million people. The waters are still swamping rich agricultural land in the southern provinces of Sindh and Punjab.