Suicide bomb attack at shrine kills 19

AT LEAST 19 people were killed and scores wounded in a suspected suicide bombing at a Muslim shrine in the Pakistani capital yesterday, where thousands had come to pay homage to the city's patron saint.

The blast occurred at the Bari Imam shrine, close to Islamabad's main government buildings and the diplomatic enclave, where many embassies and diplomatic residences are located.

"Our initial information suggests it was a suicide attack," the Islamabad police chief, Talat Mehmood Tariq, said.

At least 19 people died and 65 were wounded, said Tariq Mehmood Pirzada, a senior city official. Casualties included women and children.

Thousands of devotees from the majority Sunni Muslim and the minority Shiite Muslim sects were attending a festival at the time of the explosion.

"Many [Shiite] mourners have been martyred and many wounded," Qamar Haider Zaidi, a Shiite Muslim preacher, said, as bloody, limbless bodies were recovered from the scene.

"Shiites and Sunnis were both there."

Another Shiite cleric, Syed Guftar Hussain Sadiqi, said the blast appeared to be the work of banned Sunni militant groups or "foreign elements".

Pervez Musharraf, the president, said it was not clear who was responsible, but it could have been sectarian extremists.

"If it is sectarian, then I am very saddened. Pakistan needs to show moderation according to Islam," Mr Musharraf said.

It was the latest incident of religious violence to rock Pakistan, which has been a key ally in the United States-led war on terrorism since the attacks of 11 September, 2001.

The country has long been troubled by sectarian violence and more than 100 people have died in attacks by Sunni and Shiite militants in the past year. Most of the attacks have been attributed to Sunni militants with links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

The Bari Imam shrine is dedicated to Shah Abdul Latif Kazmi, a 17th-century Sufi teacher who is Islamabad's patron saint. Yesterday's ceremony was one held annually to pay homage to him.

Sufism is an umbrella term for the mystical and ascetic movements within Islam. Many conservative Muslims oppose popular Sufi practices, including the worship of saints and the visiting of tombs.

Witnesses said the explosion appeared to have happened near a podium where a sermon was being delivered.

Some bloodstained bodies were covered with religious banners and Shiites beat their chests in grief.

"We were listening to a sermon when there was a huge blast," said Munazar Abbasi, who was wounded.

"Everything went black and I couldn't hear anything. For a while I didn't know what was going on, then we got up and saw bodies all around us."

A senior security official said there might have been two suicide bombers, one of whom was thought to have had about 4lb of explosives strapped to his chest.