PAKISTAN: Would-be suicide bomber kills guard, wounds three in Pakistan mosque attack

Record ID: 353918

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Would-be suicide bomber kills guard, wounds three in Pakistan mosque attack
  • Date: 9th August 2013
  • Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (AUGUST 09, 2013) (REUTERS) PEOPLE STANDING OUTSIDE SHI'ITE MOSQUE SIGN READING "JAMIA MASJID ALI IBN-E-ABI TALIB" SECURITY PERSONNEL IN PLAIN CLOTHES STANDING AT ENTRANCE TO MOSQUE BODY OF SUICIDE BOMBER LYING IN MAIN PRAYER HALL (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICIAL, SAYING: "The attacker is middle aged, around 40 to 45 years of age. He wea
  • Embargoed: 24th August 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA1GOG8ZTL3MQ3PQ8GS3V6568T7
  • Story Text: A would-be suicide bomber was shot dead at a Shi'ite mosque on the edge of the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Friday (August 9) after he forced his way inside firing at two guards, according to an eyewitness.
    The attacker shot dead a guard and wounded three people before he was killed.
    Interior Ministry spokesman Omar Hamid Khan said the bomb disposal unit was on the scene trying to defuse explosives packed into a vest the man had been wearing.

    "The attacker is middle aged, around 40 to 45 years of age. He wears a long beard. He has a sturdy body. He was wearing A Shalwar (baggy trousers) and a shirt," an unidentified police official old reporters.
    Eyewitness Syed Mohammad Hassan Shirazi said "the gate of the mosque was open, he forced himself into it."

    "Inside, our two guards were performing ablution to offer prayers. He fired at them. A third guard came down here and shot him dead. Six other men were sitting here. Thank God, they are safe."
    Violence marred the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in Pakistan on Friday with gunmen killing nine people in the city of Quetta.
    The United States has ordered non-essential staff to leave its consulate in the eastern city of Lahore because of the threat of attack. It has also warned its citizens not to travel to Pakistan.
    In Quetta, gunmen fired on the vehicle of a politician driving past worshippers leaving a mosque, killing nine people and wounding 27, police said.
    Quetta is the capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan, where several militant groups are active, including the Pakistani Taliban, who claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack that killed 30 people at a policeman's funeral on Thursday.
    Attacks against Pakistan's minority Shi'ite Muslims, by Sunni Muslim militants, are increasing sharply.
    The attacks on Friday were the latest in a surge of militant violence since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office two months ago, with a string of high-profile incidents in the past two weeks.
    Sharif's government has not presented a security strategy, despite campaign promises to negotiate with militant groups.
    Security in Islamabad was tightened in the run-up to the Eid holiday, which fell on Friday in Pakistan and marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
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