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January 4, 2006
Pakistan: Arrests Made Over Shiite Muslim Shrine Attack
On 27 May, 2005, a suicide bomber walked into the enclosure at a Shiite shrine, the Hazrat Bari Imam, at Noorpur Shahan, Islamabad during a Majlis (a five-day assembly). He mounted the stage and then blew himself up. A witness reported in Dawn: "The suicide bomber tossed up in the air like a big ball of fire and his body disintegrated. The scene was like a slaughterhouse with body parts scattered everywhere. It was terrible."
Thirteen people were killed, and more than 60 were injured. The BBC stated that though Sunnis and Shia had attended the festival, the last day, when the blast occurred, was always reserved for Shias. Journalists had arrived at the scene before the police turned up, the BBC states.
Today, AKI reports that Pakistan's interior minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, has stated that arrests in connection with the attack have been made.
Sherpao had been distributing cheques for compensation to victims and relatives, and said that authorities were interrogating the individuals. He could not disclose the identity of the suspects, nor did he say how many people had been arrested.
Sherpao said that during 2005, incidents of sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias had dropped by 30%.
The arrests alluded to by Mr Sherpao do not seem to be connected with the raid last night in Karachi, where three members of the fanatical anti-Shia terror group, Lashkar-i-Jhvangi were arrested.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 4, 2006 7:44 PM
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