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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bombs kill 8 in Pakistan

Alleged suicide attackers target Sufi shrine in Karachi

A Pakistani mother mourns her two sons, who are missing after suicide attacks on a shrine in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday.  (Associated Press)
Ashraf Khan Associated Press

KARACHI, Pakistan – Two suspected suicide bombers attacked the most beloved Sufi shrine in Pakistan’s largest city Thursday, killing at least eight people, wounding 65 others, and sending a stark reminder of the threat posed by Islamist militants to this U.S.-allied nation.

Angry mobs burned tires and torched buses in the aftermath of the bombings in Karachi.

The attack came amid tensions between Washington and Islamabad over NATO helicopter incursions that have led Pakistan to close a key border crossing used to ferry supplies to Western troops in Afghanistan. Despite U.S. apologies over the incursions, one of which left two Pakistani soldiers dead, Islamabad said Thursday it had yet to decide when to reopen the crossing.

The explosions at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine in Karachi happened on Thursday evening, the busiest time of the week for Sufi shrines across the country. Thousands typically visit the Ghazi shrine on Thursdays to pray, distribute food to the poor and toss rose petals on the grave of the saint.

Pakistani Sufi sites have frequently been the target of Islamist militant groups, whose hard-line interpretations of the religion leave no room for the more mystical Sufi practices common in this Sunni-majority nation.

The first explosion took place as the suspected bomber was going through the metal detector before a long staircase leading to the main shrine area, said Babar Khattak, the top police official in Sindh province. The second blast took place about 10 seconds later, farther ahead of the metal detector, he said.

At least eight people died, including two children, officials said. Two severed heads found indicated that suicide attackers were involved.

“We have provided the best available security at this shrine,” Mirza said. “Humanly, it is not possible to stop suicide bombers intent on exploding themselves.”

Condemnations poured in from Pakistani leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari, who was staying elsewhere in the city at the time.

“We remain committed to fighting these murderers and expelling them from our land,” Zardari aide Farahnaz Ispahani said in an e-mail.

In July, twin suicide bombers in the eastern city of Lahore attacked Data Darbar, Pakistan’s most revered Sufi shrine, killing 47 people and wounding 180.