KARACHI: A suicide bombing targeting a religious procession in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi killed 30 people and wounded dozens more Monday as the country observed Ashoura.
Outraged marchers responded by setting fire to a market and vehicles at the blast site and hurling stones at security forces, who had been guarding the march for their failure to prevent the attack. Troops responded by firing into the air.
The bombing was the latest in a wave of violence to hit Pakistan since the army started taking on militants allied with Al-Qaeda and the Taleban, with terrorist strikes killing 500 people since October.
Karachi has largely been spared the Taleban-linked violence that has struck much of the rest of the country. But the city has been the scene of frequent sectarian, ethnic and political violence.
After Monday’s blast, protesters set fire to a market, two other buildings and several vehicles, smashing shops as others at the procession attempted to stop them. Television footage showed police cars and ambulances damaged, with windows smashed and doors and hoods ripped open.
Karachi Mayor Mustafa Kamal appealed for calm. “I want to appeal to the people, to my brothers, my elders to stay calm. I am hearing people are clashing with police and doctors. Please do not do that. That is what terrorists are aiming at. They want to see this city again on fire,” he said.
At the nearby Civil Hospital, relatives cried and beat their chests as the wounded lay on stretchers and beds.
The blast killed 30 people and wounded another 60, said Sagheer Ahmad, the health minister of Sindh province.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, who detonated his explosives at the start of the procession. “These are people who are against democracy, against our religion, against our Pakistan,” he said.
Bomb disposal squad official Munir Sheikh said some 16 kilograms of high explosive were used in the bombing.
Malik said he had appealed to Shiites to cancel processions for the next two days. “That does not mean that we are trying to interfere in their affairs, but we are doing it for the sake of security and to save precious lives,” he said.
Live television footage of the procession showed smoke billowing from the scene. Ambulances rushed to and from the area.
“I fell down when the bomb went off with a big bang. My mind stopped working,” said Naseem Raza, a 26-year-old who had been in the procession. “Sometime later, I stood up. People were running. I saw walls stained with blood and splashed with human flesh. I saw bloodstained people lying here and there.”
