Shiites mourn those killed in deadly triple bomb blasts in Lahore

Lahore: Thousands of Shiites, thumping their chests and crying, mourned on Thursday at funeral prayers for victims of a triple bombing that heaped more tragedy on Pakistan, which is already struggling to cope with devastating floods.

The blasts that targeted a Shiite ceremony late on Wednesday in this eastern city were the first major attacks since flood waters tore through the country over the past month, destroying or damaging more than one million homes and prompting a major international relief effort that continues to struggle with the scale of the destruction.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik yesterday blamed the Taliban for the bombings.

"The Taliban — whom I call oppressors and infidels — are looking for the soft targets," he said, adding the government was determined to crush militants and security forces were taking actions against them.

"We will continue to take actions till the demise of Taliban," he told reporters.

At least 35 people were killed and 250 wounded in the attacks on a street procession marking the death anniversary of imam Ali, one of Shiite's most respected holy men.

Two of the blasts were apparently suicide bombs.

Afterward, crowds torched a police station and vehicles. Authorities deployed paramilitary forces to restore order.

The bodies of eight victims — included a young child — were prayed over in a public park not far from the scene of the bombings. Security was tight, with police frisking mourners. Their families then took them to be buried.

"While the whole nation is distressed with the sufferings of flood affected, these terrorists are involved in promoting their own agenda," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said in a statement condemning the blasts.

Sunni militants have launched dozens of attacks against Shiites and other Islamic sects and religions in Pakistan in recent years. The extremists believe it is permissible — even honourable — to kill members of other faiths.

Allied with Al Qaida and the Taliban, the militants are also seeking to destabilise Pakistan's US-backed government through such attacks.

Khar

Women attacked

A female teacher was killed and two of her colleagues were wounded when masked militants shot them in an ambush in Pakistan's northwest tribal belt yesterday, officials said.

The victims — all women — were targeted as they returned home on foot from their school in Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal district situated along the Afghan border, officials said.

"Five to six militants who were hiding their faces ambushed them. One female teacher died on the spot," said Adalat Khan, an administrative official.

— AFP