Sunday, April 3, 2011

Blasts hit Pakistan Sufi Sakhi Sarwar shrine

At least seven people have been killed and many more injured in two explosions at a shrine in Pakistan, police say.

Some reports say as many as 30 people were killed in the explosions, which struck near the Sakhi Sarwar shrine in Punjab during a three-day festival.

The shrine belongs to Sufis - a minority branch of Islam regarded as heretical by hardliners.

The cause of the blasts is unclear, but militants have attacked Sufi shrines several times in the past.

Last October, a suicide bombing at another shrine in Punjab province left six people dead.

And earlier in the year, a suicide attack on a Lahore shrine killed at least 42 people.

The latest blasts hit near the Sakhi Sarwar shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan district, and devotees were reportedly among the dead and wounded.

"We are counting bodies. I can confirm seven dead. The figure could rise," police officer Zahid Ali told Reuters news agency.

Rescue officials later suggested 30 people had been killed, though their claims have not been verified.

Thousands of people had been marking the annual festival of Urs at the time of the blasts.

"Two suicide bombers tried to enter the shrine but failed and blew themselves up," regional police chief Ahmed Mubarak told AFP news agency.

No group has said they carried out an attack on the shrine.

No comments:

Post a Comment