A suicide car bomber attacked Shiite Muslims in southwestern
Pakistan on Wednesday as they were heading home after morning prayers
at the start of an Islamic holiday. The blast killed 10 people,
officials said.
The attack occurred in Quetta, the capital of
Baluchistan province. No group immediately claimed responsibility for
the bombing, but Baluchistan is believed to be home to many Taliban
militants who have targeted Shiites in the past. Extremist Sunni Muslim
groups like the Taliban view Shiites as heretics.
The bomber was
apparently targeting a Shiite mosque but could not get close enough
because the road was blocked, said Quetta police chief Ahsan Mahboob.
Instead, he detonated his explosives in a parking lot nearby, Mahboob said.
It
is unclear how many of the 10 people killed were Shiite worshippers or
others who were hit by the blast as they were passing by, said Mahboob.
The blast also wounded at least 17 people and damaged nearby vehicles
and buildings, he said.
The attack was a somber beginning to Eid
al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday that comes at the end of the fasting month
of Ramadan. In Pakistan, the three-day holiday started Wednesday while
in many other parts of the Muslim world it began on Tuesday.
Many
analysts believe Baluchistan is home to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and
fighters have used the province as a convenient gateway to attack
foreign troops in neighboring Afghanistan.
The Pakistani
government has also fought a decades-long insurgency in Baluchistan
waged by nationalists who demand a greater share of the province's
natural resources. AP
