Suicide blast hits Pakistan funeral

02/03/2009| IslamWeb

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 50 others wounded after a suicide bomber exploded at a funeral procession for a Shia in a northwestern Pakistani town.

 

The explosion occurred on Friday in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, 270km southwest of Islamabad, the capital.

 

The blast tore through crowds streaming toward a graveyard for the burial of Sher Zeman, a Shia leader who was gunned down in the city the day before.

 

"The blast occurred when a funeral procession for a Shia murdered a day earlier was passing by," Syed Mohsin Shah, the area's senior administrator, said.

 

Witnesses said mourners, some of whom had carried guns to the funeral, opened fire after the explosion, delaying rescue workers from accessing the scene.

 

Police said people angered by the attack fired on police officers approaching the blast site.

 

'Bolder attacks'

 

Ehsanullah Khan, a police officer in the town, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying: "Now violence has erupted here. They're torching vehicles, ransacking shops and other properties."

 

Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from Islamabad, said Dera Khan has a significant Shia population which has been under attack for several months, and that there have been several incidents within that area.

 

"What is happening is that we are seeing more and more bolder attacks - like this one," he said.

 

"Just a day ago the caretaker of the mosque was gunned down by unidentified gunmen. After that a funeral procession was taking place this morning at 10am [05:00 GMT] and a suicide bomber wandered up on foot and blew himself up.

 

"There was a huge amount of panic [and] after the panic came anger and gunshots were fired. Shops were ransacked and houses set on fire."

 

Curfew imposed

 

Pakistan's interior ministry has placed a curfew within the area and security forces have cordoned off the area, Khan said.

 

Local television footage showed people rushing around a street while men carried at least one stretcher after the blast near a bus terminal.

 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

 

PHOTO CAPTION

 

Family members help a person injured by a bomb attack on Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 at a local hospital in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan.

 

Al-Jazeera