Two Bomb Attacks On Pakistani Shia Muslims Kill 42

Islamabad, July 26, IRNA – Two bomb attacks targeting Shia mosques in a Pakistani tribal area, Friday killed at least 42 people, witnesses and hospital sources said. Officials said the first blast occurred near a Shia mosque in a busy marketplace in Parachinar, the headquarters of the tribal Kurram region. The bomb was attached to a motorbike, officials said. It was followed closely by a second blast, outside another mosque in the town. Hospital sources said that over 180 people were also injured in the attacks as the marketplace was crowded at the time of the blasts. Earlier on Friday, two people were killed when a roadside-planted bomb hit a passenger vehicle in Kurram tribal Agency. No group claimed responsibility. The authorities blame Taliban insurgents for such attacks. Shiite groups strongly condemned the attack as inhuman act and terrorism. They said the perpetrators do not respect the Holy Month of Ramazan and killed innocent people. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have strongly condemned the blasts./end