'Sectarian' bombing of Shia mosque in Karachi kills sixteen

A bomb blast tore through a Shia mosque in the centre of Karachi yesterday, killing at least 16 people and injuring 55

A bomb blast tore through a Shia mosque in the centre of Karachi yesterday, killing at least 16 people and injuring 55. The attack, timed to coincide with evening prayers, was the latest in a series of terrorist attempts to destabilise the city.

The explosion came a day after gunmen killed Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, a pro-Taliban Sunni cleric, in another area of Karachi ­ the country's largest city of 14 million people. Twin car bombings last week killed a policeman near the United States' consul's residence, and on 7 May a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque killed 24 people.

The attack intensified fears of spiralling sectarian violence in the city. Abdur Rauf Chaudhry, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said it was "too early" to say who was behind the bombing, but said "it appears to be sectarian" violence. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the Information Minister, said General Pervez Musharraf, the President, had expressed his grief over the killings and would take an "important step" in response to the incident.

The bombing yesterday provoked unrest among Shia youths across Karachi. Rioters set fire to two police vehicles and a petrol station, looted offices and blocked major roads and rail routes. At least six people were injured as police let off tear gas and opened fire in an attempt to contain the crowds.

In the rubble of the Imam Bargah Ali Raza mosque, which suffered extensive damage in the blast, wailing men and women searched in the darkness for relatives they believed were buried there. The force of the bomb cracked the mosque's dome and walls and destroyed an office as well as damaging other nearby buildings. Ghulam Hussain, a fruit seller, witnessed the blast from his stall about 200 metres away. He said: "I heard a big explosion and I saw two injured people falling on the road, bleeding, and one had no legs."

An angry crowd outside the mosque compound prevented police from approaching the scene, only letting ambulances through. Most of the casualties were taken to hospitals in
private vehicles.

Asad Ashraf Malik, Karachi's police chief, said a body retrieved from the scene was being examined to determine whether it was that of a suicide bomber. "We have not reached any conclusion yet," he said. An investigator at the scene also said that early inspections had not revealed a crater, which suggests a suicide bombing.

But Ghulam Ali, who was in the mosque when the blast was detonated, said he thought a bomb had been thrown from a passing car. He described hearing a thud and seeing a car speed away. "There was panic. People were running around. The mosque was filled with smoke," Mr Ali said.

Mr Chaudhry suggested the bombing had been carried out in retaliation for Mr Shamzai's assassination.

Attacks by radical groups on both sides of the sectarian divide are common in Pakistan, although most Sunnis, who make up 80 per cent of the 150 million population, and Shias, who account for about 17 per cent, live in peace together.

A Shia cleric described the attack as a "conspiracy to shatter Muslim unity", and appealed for calm.

Allama Hassan Turabi said: "I appeal to all Muslims to play their role for Islamic unity. Shias and Sunnis will jointly fight these Satanic forces."