News – LAHORE, PAKISTAN—Three bombs ripped through a Shiite Muslim religious procession in this eastern Pakistani city on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people and wounding about 150, officials said.
They said the explosions appeared to be the latest in a string of attacks by Sunni extremists against the minority Shiites they consider infidels. Allied with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the extremists are also seeking to destabilize Pakistan’s U.S.-backed government.
The blasts were the first major attacks since Pakistan was hit by devastating floods more than a month ago. Lahore, the country’s political capital and home to much of its military elite, has been regularly targeted by militants over the past two years.
The bombs exploded at three separate sites Wednesday evening as 35,000 Shiites marched through the streets of Lahore in their traditional mourning procession for Caliph Ali, one of Shiite Islam’s most respected holy men.
After the blasts, the marchers erupted in fury, setting fire to a police station and another police facility, two police cars and three motorcycles, said Zulfiqar Hameed, a senior police officer.
Police lobbed tear gas canisters at the crowd and fired shots in the air to disperse the protesters, he said.
The first blast was a time bomb that exploded in the street near a well-known Shiite building, Hameed said. Footage of that explosion showed a small explosion amid a crowd on the street, followed by a large plume of smoke. Hundreds of people fled the blast, while others rushed to the area to carry the wounded to safety.
Minutes later, with the streets in chaos, a suicide bomber who appeared to be about 18 years old blew himself up in an area where food was being prepared for the marchers to break the traditional Ramadan fast, Hameed said. Soon after, another suicide bomber blew up at an intersection near the end of the procession.
Senator Abbas Kumaili, a prominent Shiite scholar, called for three days of mourning over the attack and lashed out at the bombers. “They are our enemies. Both Shiites and Sunnis should remain united and foil their evil designs,” he said.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the blasts in a statement and said the attackers would not escape justice. Hours earlier, three people were wounded in a shooting near a similar Shiite procession in the southern city of Karachi, but senior police officer Iqbal Mahmood said the march wasn’t the target.
Meanwhile, a bomb exploded near a police vehicle in the town of Shabqadar in northwest Pakistan, killing one passerby and wounding 15 people, including one police officer, police officer Nisar Khan said.
The bombings came after Pakistan army jets and helicopters targeted militant hideouts near the Afghan border, killing 60 people identified as insurgents or their family members, including children, said security officials and a witness.
The attacks occurred Tuesday and Wednesday in different parts of the region. There was no independent confirmation of the casualty figures because the area is too dangerous for outsiders to visit. Jihad Gul, who lives near one of the villages, said he had seen the bodies of at least 20 women and children.
Army spokesman Maj.-Gen. Athar Abbas said reports of civilian casualties were unconfirmed. An air attack Wednesday in the adjoining district of Orakzai killed 15 suspected militants and wounded 10 others, according to local government official Jamil Khan and a brief army statement.
Pakistan’s army has been fighting Islamist militants in different parts of the northwest for more than two years.
Militants who fled major operations in the South Waziristan and Orakzai tribal regions are believed to have set up new bases in Khyber, about 100 kilometres northwest of Peshawar, the main city in the region.
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