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  • Pakistan Bombing Kills at Least 40

    Pakistan and other normal countries need to start opening some cans of whoopass themselves.

    By ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press Writer
    37 minutes ago



    KARACHI, Pakistan - A bomb exploded during an Islamic prayer service at a park in this southern Pakistani city Tuesday, killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens. An angry mob burned cars and threw stones at police, who fired into the air to disperse the crowds, a witness said.

    Initial reports suggested a bomb was planted near the stage in Nishtar Park in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, for a prayer gathering organized by a Sunni Muslim group to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad, said area police chief Shah Nawaz.

    But Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao told Pakistan's private Geo television that authorities were also investigating whether the attack may have been carried out by a suicide bomber.

    Sherpao told The Associated Press that at least 40 people were killed. "It is a very unfortunate incident," he said.

    Scenes of mass confusion broke out after the explosion in the park, where hundreds of people had gathered for the prayer service.

    Scores of men wearing long white, blood-spattered robes clambered onto the stage to assist victims, some apparently dead and others wounded and waving their arms for help. A plume of smoke caused by the blast hung over the stage.

    People were seen carrying away bloodied blast victims and placing them into ambulances. Four men carried one victim in what looked like a white sheet soaked with blood. Several bodies were seen lying side-by-side on a strip of dusty ground.

    Police officers fired into the air to disperse crowds that massed at the scene. An angry mob burned cars and pelted security forces with stones after the blast, said witness Mohammed Asif.

    "I saw body parts everywhere. I saw people collecting body parts and putting them in ambulances," Asif said.

    Television footage inside several Karachi hospitals showed scores of victims being treated in crowded wards. A screaming woman wailed over a person killed in the blast, the body covered by a white sheet on a hospital bed.

    A young boy with burns on his face said he was praying in the park when a massive blast ripped through the crowd. "I saw fire and smoke after the big explosion," the unidentified boy told Geo television.

    Sindh Provincial Interior Minister Raouf Sadiqui said officials were investigating the attack but that "so far we don't have any confirmed information."

    Two prominent Sunni Muslim clerics were among the dead, including Akram Qadri, a senior leader of the Sunni Tehrik religious group that organized the prayer service, said Sami Jamali, a doctor at a nearby hospital. Sadiqui said Sheik Hanif Billu also died.

    Karachi has been the scene of several bombings and attacks since Pakistan became a key ally of the United States in its war on terror after Sept. 11, 2001.

    On March 2, a suicide bomber who was blocked from driving into the U.S. Consulate instead slammed into an American diplomat's car, killing the envoy and three others just days before President Bush visited Pakistan.



    Edit: 2 hours have passed, and no one cares.
    Last edited by SlowwHand; April 11, 2006, 15:41.
    Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
    "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
    He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

  • #2
    This is terrible.

    I've been looking at news reports to see if there's any indication of who might be responsible.

    Are there Sunnis and Shias in Pakistan?

    Comment


    • #3
      No word of who did this yet?
      In da butt.
      "Do not worry if others do not understand you. Instead worry if you do not understand others." - Confucius
      THE UNDEFEATED SUPERCITIZEN w:4 t:2 l:1 (DON'T ASK!)
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      • #4
        Bombers, would be my best guess.

        Does it make it any better or worse depending on who did it?

        Comment


        • #5
          I'm sorry for being interested who is behind this. If your only input is this, I suggest you go back to kiddie table.
          In da butt.
          "Do not worry if others do not understand you. Instead worry if you do not understand others." - Confucius
          THE UNDEFEATED SUPERCITIZEN w:4 t:2 l:1 (DON'T ASK!)
          "God is dead" - Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" - God.

          Comment


          • #6
            "People sitting on the stage were killed which suggests the bomb was carried by someone on the stage,"

            BBC, News, BBC News, news online, world, uk, international, foreign, british, online, service





            At least 47 people have died in a suspected suicide bombing at a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's birth in southern Pakistan.

            More than 80 people were injured when the blast ripped apart a wooden stage where religious leaders were sitting.

            Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims had been taking part in evening prayers in Karachi's Nishtar Park at the time.

            Angry crowds later went on the rampage in the city, accusing the police of failing to provide adequate security.

            Three days of mourning has been declared.

            The attack was condemned by Shia leader Allama Hassan Turabi as well as President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.


            The blast shook the earth... It was like hell
            Mohammad Ehtesham

            Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao confirmed the death toll had risen to 47.

            He told the BBC the attack appeared to have been carried out by a suicide bomber.

            Initial reports suggested the bomb had been planted under the wooden stage, but Mr Sherpao said "investigators have found no crater in the ground under the stage".

            "People sitting on the stage were killed which suggests the bomb was carried by someone on the stage," the minister added.

            No-one has claimed responsibility for the explosion at what was believed to be the biggest of such events being held in Pakistan.

            Karachi has a history of sectarian and ethnic violence, but this is the first time in decades that a religious gathering celebrating the Prophet's birthday has been targeted, the BBC's Zaffar Abbas in Pakistan says.

            "The blast shook the earth. It was like hell," Mohammad Ehtesham, 70, told Reuters news agency.

            Sunni Muslim leaders taking part in the ceremony were believed to be among the dead.

            "I saw body parts everywhere. I saw people collecting body parts and putting them in ambulances," another witness said.

            An emergency has been declared at the city's hospitals. Off-duty doctors and paramedics have been called in and appeals are being made for blood.

            Twenty-four bodies were reported at one hospital alone.

            'Nothing is working'

            Anger at the attack spilt over into violence as hundreds of enraged worshippers took to the streets accusing the authorities of failing to provide adequate security.

            They hurled rocks at the security forces who fired shots in the air to try and disperse the crowd. A petrol station as well as cars were burned.

            Passenger bus set alight in Karachi
            The bomb attack sparked angry scenes in Karachi

            Sherbanoo Raza told the BBC her mother had been in her car when it was set alight, along with up to 30 others nearby.

            "My mother panicked, she was terrified. She went up to a friend's house nearby," she said.

            "It's not even safe enough for her to cross the road and get a cab home. Nothing is working."

            The event had been organised by the Sunni organisation Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat.

            The group draws support from the same Sunni community that lost 29 women and children in a stampede during prayers also marking the Prophet's birthday in a Karachi Islamic centre at the weekend.

            Comment


            • #7
              edit : bof
              Last edited by Cort Haus; April 11, 2006, 17:40.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Pekka
                I'm sorry for being interested who is behind this. If your only input is this, I suggest you go back to kiddie table.
                Your interest, as you put it, at this early point in time could be taken to indicate your need for this information to determine to what extent you're shocked by 40 people dying.

                Of course it's important to find out who's behind it, but it's not the first impulse that pops up when I hear of something like this.

                That is all.

                Comment


                • #9
                  "Your interest, as you put it, at this early point in time could be taken to indicate your need for this information to determine to what extent you're shocked by 40 people dying."

                  And your statement could be taken as an indicator of your idiocy.

                  This isn't breaking news anymore. And no I wasn't shocked when I heard this and you are a liar if you claim you were.

                  If you want to be offended, find someone else to bark at.
                  In da butt.
                  "Do not worry if others do not understand you. Instead worry if you do not understand others." - Confucius
                  THE UNDEFEATED SUPERCITIZEN w:4 t:2 l:1 (DON'T ASK!)
                  "God is dead" - Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" - God.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Why don't you calm down a little, you seem to be in an unusually defensive mood tonight.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      C'mon Winston, it's a natural reaction to any terrorist bombing to immediately ask "who"? Nothing wrong with that.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        well I think this is an official thread, so when I'm discussing about the evidence or rumours or best guesses here, I don't want to get into an argument with you about how much I care or something. I didn't throw the accusation. You did. It IS vital information who did this. Or do you want thread where everyone gives the thumbs down and that's like a great thread? I believe we are here to talk. So let's talk. I want to know what the rumours are about the actors behind this strike.

                        And yes it is sad that this happened, very much so.

                        Now let's get onto it and stop wasting our times anymore with useless words. Furthermore threads like these shouldn't be threadjacked. It's official and important and neither of us started the thread so .. may the thread continue.
                        In da butt.
                        "Do not worry if others do not understand you. Instead worry if you do not understand others." - Confucius
                        THE UNDEFEATED SUPERCITIZEN w:4 t:2 l:1 (DON'T ASK!)
                        "God is dead" - Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" - God.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Cort Haus
                          C'mon Winston, it's a natural reaction to any terrorist bombing to immediately ask "who"? Nothing wrong with that.
                          I think it's a rather callous reaction more than anything, which is why I objected. But by all means, let's move on.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I don't think that there are many Shiities in Pakistan, it's virtually all Sunnis. Could someone have done this to embarass Musharaff? It 's not very logical, but logic is in short supply in that part of the world.
                            "I say shoot'em all and let God sort it out in the end!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
                              I don't think that there are many Shiities in Pakistan, it's virtually all Sunnis. Could someone have done this to embarass Musharaff? It 's not very logical, but logic is in short supply in that part of the world.
                              There is actually a fair Shiite minority in Pakistan. And secterian fighting inside of Pakistan is several years old. Maybe some poeople on the thread haven't been apying attention for the last 5 years....

                              According to the CIA Fact Book:

                              Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%
                              If you don't like reality, change it! me
                              "Oh no! I am bested!" Drake
                              "it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong" Voltaire
                              "Patriotism is a pernecious, psychopathic form of idiocy" George Bernard Shaw

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