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Pakistan blast: Shias killed in Khanpur procession | Pakistan blast: Shias killed in Khanpur procession |
(about 2 hours later) | |
At least 17 people have been killed and some 20 wounded in a bomb attack on a Shia religious procession in the central Pakistani city of Khanpur. | |
Police initially thought the blast had been caused by an electrical fault, but later confirmed it was a bomb. | Police initially thought the blast had been caused by an electrical fault, but later confirmed it was a bomb. |
The attack targeted Shias marking the festival of Arbain, one of the main holy days of the Shia calendar. | The attack targeted Shias marking the festival of Arbain, one of the main holy days of the Shia calendar. |
There have been a number of attacks targeting the minority Shia community, carried out by Sunni militants. | There have been a number of attacks targeting the minority Shia community, carried out by Sunni militants. |
The remote-controlled bomb was planted near an electric pole, Sohail Chattha, the area's police chief, told Reuters news agency. | The remote-controlled bomb was planted near an electric pole, Sohail Chattha, the area's police chief, told Reuters news agency. |
He said it was set off as the procession approached. | He said it was set off as the procession approached. |
"There was a loud explosion a few yards from the procession and we all scrambled to get away," Imran Iqbal, who was in the procession, told Reuters. | "There was a loud explosion a few yards from the procession and we all scrambled to get away," Imran Iqbal, who was in the procession, told Reuters. |
"Debris was everywhere, and a cloud of dust engulfed us. Many people died on the spot." | "Debris was everywhere, and a cloud of dust engulfed us. Many people died on the spot." |
Cameras captured the sound of the blast - which silenced the mourning chants of the marchers - followed by the sight of a cloud of dust rising into the sky, the BBC's Shoaib Hasan reports from Karachi. | |
As the dust cleared, the wounded dragged themselves from the scene of the blast, their cries filling the air, he said. | |
Ambulances arrived quickly and rushed the injured to local hospitals. | |
Angry members of the procession later clashed with the police amid accusations that the security provided had been inadequate. | |
No organisation has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, our correspondent says. | |
But South Punjab is home turf to Pakistan's deadliest Sunni militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which is notoriously anti-Shia, he adds. |