Blast at Pak cleric's funeral kills 10

Dera Ismail Khan, Nov 21: A blast killed at least ten mourners on Friday at the funeral of a Shi’ite cleric in northwestern Pakistan who was gunned down hours earlier, police said. At least 28 others were wounded.

After the explosion, a mob burned several shops and vehicles near the blast site in Dera Ismail Khan, police officer Saadullah Marwat said.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan is undergoing a wave of Islamist violence that risks destabilizing the country as the West seeks its support in fighting al Qaeda and Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The motives for the shooting and blast were unclear, but in the past members of Pakistan's majority Sunni Muslim community have attacked Shi’ites, considered by some to be heretical.

Northwestern Pakistan is home to scores of al Qaeda and Taliban extremists. They are Sunni, but mostly attack Pakistani police and military trying to root them out of the area.

The victims were attending the funeral of cleric Allama Nazir Shah Naqvi, who was fatally shot earlier Friday, Marwat said, adding it was not yet clear if the blast was from a hidden explosive device, a grenade or a suicide bomber.

Eight bodies were taken to a local hospital where 28 people wounded in the attack were being treated, including some in critical condition, Dr Farid Mehsud said.

Bureau Report


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