Friday, October 1, 2004
33 killed, 70 hurt in Pak mosque blast
Agence France-Presse Islamabad, October 1
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Shiite mosque packed with worshippers during Friday prayers killing at least 33 people and injuring 70 others in Pakistan's eastern border city of Sialkot.
The explosion that ripped through the building occurred at around 1.30 pm local time at the Mistri Abdullah Imambargah mosque in Sialkot, 160 kms north of Lahore. The mosque was packed with hundreds of worshippers listening to the sermons of Imam, reports reaching Islamabad said.
A district police official told state-run PTV that an unidentified person with a briefcase had entered the mosque after which the blast took place.
Police suspected that he was a suicide bomber and was carrying explosives in the briefcase.
The blast, which created a one-and-half feet deep hole, took place five days after Pakistani security forces killed one of the most wanted Al-Qaeda operatives, Amjad Farooqi, in a shootout.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said the blast was an attempt by the extremist groups in the country to tarnish the positive impression being created by President Musharraf to bring in foreign investment.
Musharraf, who returned from his visit to the US, the Netherlands and Italy late on Thursday night, said about 100 Al-Qaeda terrorists were killed during a recent military operation in tribal areas near Afghan border in Pakistan.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.