Police began efforts yesterday to identify the remains of a suspected suicide bomber who attacked a popular Muslim shrine near the official residence of Pakistan's prime minister, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores more, an official said.
The explosion ripped through a congregation of hundreds of mainly Shiite worshippers who had gathered Friday for the last day of a religious festival at the Bari Imam shrine.
The shrine is about a kilometer from the residence of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the heavily guarded diplomatic enclave that houses the embassy of the US and other countries in the capital, Islamabad.
PHOTO: AFP
Thousands of Muslims, both Sunnis and minority Shiites, attended the five-day festival. The explosion left blood, body parts, shoes and pieces of clothing scattered over a wide area.
Police recovered the head of a man who appeared to be in his 20s and is believed to be the suicide attacker, said Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
"[Investigators] are trying to identify him. We will soon determine who he is," Ahmed told reporters.
He offered a reward of 500,000 rupees (US$8,400) for information that helps identify the attacker.
Yesterday newspapers published photographs of the suspect's head -- with an unshaven face, thin mustache and curly hair.
The bombing struck the congregation under a canvas shade as they awaited the arrival of Shiite leader Hamid Mosavi, a vehement critic of the US-led war on terrorism, who was about to deliver a sermon. Mosavi was not hurt, witnesses said.
A government official, Tariq Pirzada, said at least 18 people were killed and 86 others hurt in the explosion, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported.
Hundreds of Shiite worshippers, beating their chests and heads in mourning, clashed with police near the shrine afterward when officers charged the crowd with batons to clear the way for ambulances. Some chanted, "Down with America!"
Police stepped up security in Islamabad Saturday.
President General Pervez Musharraf condemned the deadliest attack in the capital for years, and appealed for his countrymen to unite against "religious terrorism, sectarianism and extremism."
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also condemned the bombing, and expressed outrage that civilians have been repeatedly targeted at their places of worship.
"Let me express the condolences of the US government for this tragic event," added US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca, who was in Islamabad for talks. "This was a horrible thing to have happened."
Sectarian attacks are common in Pakistan. Sunnis make up about 80 percent of its 150 million people, and Shiites about 17 percent. Most live peacefully together, but extremist elements on both sides have violent agendas.
The schism dates back to a Seventh-century dispute over who was the true heir to the Prophet Mohammed.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
OVERHAUL: The move would likely mark the end to Voice of America, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and operated in nearly 50 languages The parent agency of Voice of America (VOA) on Friday said it had issued termination notices to more than 639 more staff, completing an 85 percent decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda. US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) senior advisor Kari Lake said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of US President Donald Trump’s agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum. “Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image