Islamabad, May 07: A man with explosives strapped around his body and standing in the front row during Friday prayers in a mosque blew himself up, killing at least 15 Shia worshippers, including the imam, and several were injured this afternoon in Pakistan`s port city of Karachi. The suicide bombing took place at around 1350 hours IST when over 400 worshippers were at the Shia mosque inside government-run Sindh Madrassatul Islam religious school, established by the country`s founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
President Pervez Musharraf condemned the blast as a "heinous act of terrorism" and ordered an immediate probe into the attack. Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali also condemned the bombing.
While 15 dead were brought to Karachi Civil Hospital, another body was taken to the Jinnah Hospital. Over 200 persons were injured in the blast of which 100 have been hosptialised. Fifty of the injured were treated for serious burn injuries, police said.
The Sindh government has announced a Rs 2.5 million reward for any person providing clue to the mosque bomber.
The blast created mayhem in the mosque and virtually ripped open its 40 ft high ceiling. Television channels showed bits of flesh and pools of blood all around as rescuers shifted the wounded in ambulances to hospital.
Shia leader Hasan Turabi condemned the attack and said terrorists are getting bolder because they are not being punished. "Now we have to defend ourselves," he told reporters in Karachi.
Bureau Report