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Shiite leader dies in suicide attack
A prominent Shiite leader and two others were killed in a suicide bombing attack in Karachi yesterday, triggering violent protest in several neighbourhoods, police and witnesses said.
- By Mujahid Ali, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 July 14, 2006
Karachi: A prominent Shiite leader and two others were killed in a suicide bombing attack in Karachi yesterday, triggering violent protest in several neighbourhoods, police and witnesses said.
Allama Hassan Turabi, the chief of the main Shiite political party, Islami Tehrik, was returning home after attending an anti-Israel rally when the suicide bombing occurred in Abbas Town just out side his house, they said.
Turbai was critically wounded in the bombing and was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries within an hour, said doctors.
Ali Turabi, the nephew of the Shiite leader, and a police guard were also killed in the attack. Three policemen, who were escorting the Shiite leader, were wounded.
Deputy Inspector General of police Manzoor Mughal said the attacker was a suicide bomber. "The bomber drove up in a car and then got out near Allama Turabi's vehicle and blew himself up," he said.
The suspected bomber's severed head, with eyes still open, was lying near the body of Turabi's young nephew, witnesses said.
The body parts of the suicide bomber, who appeared in his mid-20s, were collected by the relief workers of Edhi Ambulance Service and taken to a mortuary.
They said the huge blast shook the entire neighbourhood, smashing windows of many houses. "I nearly fell from my chair when I heard the blast," a resident said over the telephone.
Turabi escaped another assassination attempt in April when a bomb hidden under a fruit cart exploded as he climbed into his car outside his home. Two bodyguards and a passerby were hurt in that incident.
Several hundred angry Shiites thronged the hospital where Turabi's body was kept. "It is an international conspiracy against us because we are opposing the imperialism of United States and condemning Israeli brutalities," said Hasan Zafar Naqvi, a leader of Turabi's party. "Our sacrifices will not go to waste." Within minutes of the news of Turabi's death, small bands of Shiite youngsters started pelting stones on traffic and forcing shopkeepers to shut their businesses in Abbas Town, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Ancholi and the adjoining areas.
"We will avenge our martyred leader," shouted youngsters as they hurled stones on traffic in Gulshan-e-Iqbal.
Police said that they were talking to elders of the community to seek their help in pacifying the emotions of the people.
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