Karachi, June 22: Dozens of armed men stormed a mosque in the southern port city of Karachi today in a bid to seize control from a rival faction of a militant Islamic group, shooting in the air and beating people inside. One man was injured.
Supporters of two rival factions of the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammed group clashed at the Atta mosque in a residential neighbourhood of Karachi shortly after pre-dawn prayers, said Mohammed Khalid, a police official in the area.
Nearly 40 men wielding guns stormed the mosque, Khalid said, meeting resistance from another group inside. It was not clear why the two groups were fighting for control of the mosque.
The injured man was shot in the leg.
Nearly a hundred heavily armed policemen and paramilitary rangers were deployed outside the mosque and authorities were trying to get the two sides to end the dispute peacefully, Khalid said.
Jaish-e-Mohammed was banned last year by the government as part of its efforts to end religious extremism in the country. Bureau Report