THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2004
41 killed in attack on Shiite procession in Pak
AP
QUETTA : Armed men opened fire on Shia worshippers during a religious procession in a city in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 150. The city mayor declared a curfew.
Officials reported an explosion and gunfire in a congested area of Quetta , in Baluchistan province, as a procession of hundreds of Shias marking Ashura, the most important day in the Muslim holy month of Muharram, passed by.
Soon after, a Sunni mosque, a television network office and several shops were set afire as Shias rioted in parts of the city, and an exchange of fire took place near the scene of the initial attack.
A senior intelligence official said that authorities had separated the remains of one of the suspected attackers, and that there was evidence he may have blown himself up.
Government officials said the carnage was an effort by extremist groups to destabilize the country.
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