Post by Editor on Mar 4, 2013 13:36:13 GMT
Suicide bombing in Karachi kills 45 and injures 149 in attack that targeted Shi’ite Muslims as they left evening prayers
Bomb exploded as Shi'ite muslims were leaving evening prayers
Nearly 300 stani Shi'ites estimated to have been killed since January
By EMILY DAVIES
PUBLISHED: 19:37, 3 March 2013 | UPDATED: 19:45, 3 March 2013
The death toll from a suspected suicide bombing in stan's commercial capital Karachi on Sunday has risen to 45, a senior city official said.
Hashim Raza also said 149 people were wounded in the attack outside a Shi'ite mosque, the latest signal that Sunni groups are escalating sectarian bombings against the minority.
The bomb exploded outside a Shi'ite mosque as people were leaving evening prayers, said police official Azhar Iqbal. Men, women and children were among those killed and wounded, he said.
The attack killed 145 people after a bomb exploded outside a Shiite mosque as people left evening prayers
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb, but it signals an escalation in attacks targeted at the Shiite minority
Witness Mariam Bibi said: 'It's like doomsday to me. I was watching television when I heard an explosion and my flat was badly shaken.
'I saw people burning to death and crying with pain. I saw children lying in pools of their own blood and women running around shouting for their children and loved ones.'
Another witness, Ali Reza, said: 'The explosion was so massive it jolted the entire area. Two flats and nearby shops caught fire after the explosion and balconies of various buildings collapsed.'
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It is feared people have become trapped in the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the bombing.
No one has claimed responsibility, but Sunni militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban have targeted Shi'ites in the past, claiming they are heretics.
Initial reports suggest the bomb was rigged to a motorcycle, although a survey of the damage indicates there could have been additional explosives planted at the scene, the police official said.
Rescuers attempt to save victims from the burning wreckage after a bomb exploded outside a Shiite mosque
It is not yet known which group is responsible for the explosion, which caused flames to engulf the building
Injured victims are carried away from the scene of the attack where 45 people died and 149 were wounded
'I heard a huge blast. I saw flames,' Syed Irfat Ali, a resident of the area, said, adding that people were crying and running to safety.
Sunni militant groups have stepped up attacks in the past year against Shi'ite Muslims who make up about 20 per cent of stan's population of 180 million people.
Two brazen attacks against a Shi'ite Hazara community in south western city of Quetta have killed nearly 200 people since January 10.
stani militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for those bombings, which ripped through a billiard club and a market in areas populated by Hazaras, which are mostly Muslim Shi'ites.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287470/Suicide-bombing-Karachi-kills-45-injures-149-attack-targeted-Shi-ite-Muslims-left-evening-prayers.html#ixzz2MZt5M8Pj
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Bomb exploded as Shi'ite muslims were leaving evening prayers
Nearly 300 stani Shi'ites estimated to have been killed since January
By EMILY DAVIES
PUBLISHED: 19:37, 3 March 2013 | UPDATED: 19:45, 3 March 2013
The death toll from a suspected suicide bombing in stan's commercial capital Karachi on Sunday has risen to 45, a senior city official said.
Hashim Raza also said 149 people were wounded in the attack outside a Shi'ite mosque, the latest signal that Sunni groups are escalating sectarian bombings against the minority.
The bomb exploded outside a Shi'ite mosque as people were leaving evening prayers, said police official Azhar Iqbal. Men, women and children were among those killed and wounded, he said.
The attack killed 145 people after a bomb exploded outside a Shiite mosque as people left evening prayers
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb, but it signals an escalation in attacks targeted at the Shiite minority
Witness Mariam Bibi said: 'It's like doomsday to me. I was watching television when I heard an explosion and my flat was badly shaken.
'I saw people burning to death and crying with pain. I saw children lying in pools of their own blood and women running around shouting for their children and loved ones.'
Another witness, Ali Reza, said: 'The explosion was so massive it jolted the entire area. Two flats and nearby shops caught fire after the explosion and balconies of various buildings collapsed.'
More...
Al-Qaeda leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar 'killed in Mali' as Chadian armed forces destroy terrorist base
Why we must be allowed to kick out terrorists, by Tory MP for Dover and Deal CHARLIE ELPHIKE
It is feared people have become trapped in the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the bombing.
No one has claimed responsibility, but Sunni militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban have targeted Shi'ites in the past, claiming they are heretics.
Initial reports suggest the bomb was rigged to a motorcycle, although a survey of the damage indicates there could have been additional explosives planted at the scene, the police official said.
Rescuers attempt to save victims from the burning wreckage after a bomb exploded outside a Shiite mosque
It is not yet known which group is responsible for the explosion, which caused flames to engulf the building
Injured victims are carried away from the scene of the attack where 45 people died and 149 were wounded
'I heard a huge blast. I saw flames,' Syed Irfat Ali, a resident of the area, said, adding that people were crying and running to safety.
Sunni militant groups have stepped up attacks in the past year against Shi'ite Muslims who make up about 20 per cent of stan's population of 180 million people.
Two brazen attacks against a Shi'ite Hazara community in south western city of Quetta have killed nearly 200 people since January 10.
stani militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for those bombings, which ripped through a billiard club and a market in areas populated by Hazaras, which are mostly Muslim Shi'ites.
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287470/Suicide-bombing-Karachi-kills-45-injures-149-attack-targeted-Shi-ite-Muslims-left-evening-prayers.html#ixzz2MZt5M8Pj
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