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Many killed in Pakistan bombing | Many killed in Pakistan bombing |
(10 minutes later) | |
At least 24 people have been killed and 30 injured in a bomb attack on a religious procession in the Pakistani province of Punjab, police say. | At least 24 people have been killed and 30 injured in a bomb attack on a religious procession in the Pakistani province of Punjab, police say. |
The attack targeted Shia mourners in the town of Dera Ghazi Khan. | |
Mourners were leaving a Shia mosque when the bomb went off. It is not clear who carried it the attack or whether it was the work of a suicide bomber. | |
Security and emergency aid personnel were quick to arrive on the scene and are taking away the dead and injured. | Security and emergency aid personnel were quick to arrive on the scene and are taking away the dead and injured. |
Southern Punjab has a long history of sectarian violence. | |
In recent years this has been aggravated by the growing strength of the Taleban, the militant Sunni Muslim movement. | |
'Terrorist' | |
Police are investigating whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. | Police are investigating whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. |
"It appears to have been a suicide bombing, as there was no crater in the aftermath of the blast," the local police chief, Masud-ul-Hasan, said. | "It appears to have been a suicide bombing, as there was no crater in the aftermath of the blast," the local police chief, Masud-ul-Hasan, said. |
"To my knowledge, 24 people have been killed in the blast." | |
A short while earlier Hasan Iqbal, the local police commissioner, told reporters: "It appears to have been a planted device." | A short while earlier Hasan Iqbal, the local police commissioner, told reporters: "It appears to have been a planted device." |
He called it a terrorist attack aimed at Shias to create unrest. | |
Television footage showed bodies on the ground surrounded by debris and ambulances, with survivors wailing and beating their heads in grief. | Television footage showed bodies on the ground surrounded by debris and ambulances, with survivors wailing and beating their heads in grief. |
Some reports speak of protests in the town. | |
Southern Punjab is home to a number of violent sectarian groups with links to al-Qaeda and the Taleban. | |
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, one of Pakistan's most ruthless militant groups, is blamed for most of the violence. | |
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is a militant outshoot of the Sipah-e-Sahaba organisation which demands Pakistan be turned into a hard-line Sunni state. | |
The Lashkar is said to have close links to al-Qaeda and the Taleban and has been blamed for a string of attacks including the Marriot bombing in Islamabad. | The Lashkar is said to have close links to al-Qaeda and the Taleban and has been blamed for a string of attacks including the Marriot bombing in Islamabad. |