السبت، 24 نوفمبر 2012

Roadside Bomb Kills at Least 7 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A roadside bomb in northwestern Pakistan killed at least seven people on Saturday, including four children, police officials said, as the government struggled to control sectarian violence in the country.

Militants targeted a procession of Shiite Muslims early Saturday in Dera Ismail Khan, a town on the edges of the restive tribal region in northwestern Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province. At least 30 people were wounded in the explosion, police officials said, which was remotely detonated and ripped through the procession as it passed by.

The latest violence comes as the authorities in Pakistan have installed strict security measures in an effort to thwart terrorists attacks by extremist Sunni groups on Shiites, who are observing Ashura, the 10-day mourning period that ends Sunday.

More than a dozen people had already been killed this week during processions before Saturday’s bombing.

Thousands of police officials have been deployed across Pakistan to protect Shiite processions as they march through the cities, clad in black mourning dresses and whip themselves to mourn the  killing of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussein, in the battle of Karbala in A.D. 680.

Cellular networks had been suspended for several hours across 46 cities over the weekend after officials said a series of bomb attacks on Shiites were set off by cellphones. The interior minister, Rehman Malik, described the suspension as essential in foiling terrorists bombings. Intelligence reports, Mr. Malik said, have warned of terrorist attempts in several major cities, including Karachi and Quetta.

Pillions riding on motorbikes has also been banned in major cities.

The security challenge facing the government was evident when President Asif Ali Zardari met Friday with the army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and officials said both leaders discussed the worsening security situation in the country.

Shiites and Sunni Muslims generally live in harmony in the country but  Sunni militants have repeatedly targeted Shiites in the last  decade through a string of suicide attacks and bombings. A banned Sunni militant group affiliated with Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, is one of the main instigators of violence against Shiites. President Zardari strongly condemned the Saturday bombing and reiterated the government’s resolve “to continue its struggle against the militants till its logical conclusion.”

“Such nefarious acts cannot deter the people and the government in their fight against the scourge of militancy,” Mr. Zardari said in a statement.

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