Bomber hits Pakistan Shia mosque A suicide attack at a Shia mosque in the Pakistani city of Peshawar has left 10 people dead and 20 wounded, officials have said. The blast came as the minority Shia community prepared to mark this weekend's Ashura festival.
An eyewitness told the BBC the bomber pushed past security personnel before blowing himself up. Security has been high in Pakistan during the holy month of Muharram, of which Ashura marks the climax. A BBC reporter at the scene counted five bodies and was told by officials other dead had been removed. History of violence Local police chief Imtiaz Khan said 10 people died in the blast at the mosque, which was reportedly crowded with worshippers. Officials said the attacker blew himself up outside the mosque gates after being stopped by police. But eyewitness Ghulam Abbas told the BBC Urdu service: "I saw a young man push past security personnel and rush into the mosque and then he blew himself up... there was a big blast and smoke everywhere." Another witness was Arshad Ali, whose brother died in the blast, the Associated Press news agency reports. "People present there tried to stop him. He took out a pistol, shot three times and then blew himself up." There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. Pakistan has a history of violence between Sunni and Shia extremists. Thursday's bombing happened in the same area of Peshawar where 11 people died in a suicide attack last year during Ashura. Last week a suicide attack killed more than 20 people at a police checkpoint in the eastern city of Lahore but it is not clear if that attack was sectarian. The latest suicide bombing comes as Pakistan heads for elections on 18 February, which were delayed by six weeks following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. North West Frontier Province, of which Peshawar is the capital, is the scene of frequent clashes between security forces and militants allied to the Taleban movement, active in neighbouring Afghanistan. Are you in the area? Have you been affected by this incident? If you have any information you would like to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below: You can send pictures and video to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or text them to +44 7725 100 100 . If you have a large file you can upload here. Click here to see terms and conditions At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7194275.stm Published: 2008/01/17 16:49:06 GMT © BBC MMVIII --------------- Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo Allah yang disembah orang Islam tipikal dan yang digambarkan oleh al-Mushaf itu dungu, buas, kejam, keji, ganas, zalim lagi biadab hanyalah Allah fiktif. __________________________________________________________ Sent from Yahoo! Mail - a smarter inbox http://uk.mail.yahoo.com Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
