Lahore: A teenage suicide bomber blew himself up near a religious procession of Shiites in Lahore yesterday, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 50, officials said.
Islamist militants linked to Al Qaida and Taliban have attacked such religious gatherings in the past as part of their bloody campaign to create chaos and topple the US-backed Pakistani government.
"A 13-year-old boy detonated explosives as policemen tried to check him at a cordon near the procession," Lahore police chief Aslam Tarin told Reuters.
Hospital officials said 13 people, including three policemen and a woman, were killed and around 52 people were wounded.
Lower class
There was also a blast in Karachi after a Shiite procession passed through a lower-class neighbourhood.
Initial reports suggested a bomber on a motorbike struck a police vehicle. Hospital officials said one policeman was killed and two wounded. Shiites stage large rallies on the streets to mark Chehlumor Arba'in, the end of their 40-day religious mourning period for Imam Hussain, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), who was killed during a battle in AD680 in Karbala in modern-day Iraq.
Militants have unleashed a wave of suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan in recent months. The attacks on religious minorities are part of their wider campaign to destabilise Pakistan.
A group affiliated with the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
