Oct 22, 12:19 PM EDT

Bombing at Shiite mosque kills 10 in southwest Pakistan


AP Photo
AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad

Buy AP Photo Reprints
Interactives
Interactive about flood-hit areas in Asia
Floods in Pakistan
Battling Taliban in Pakistan
A village destroyed: On the front lines of the Pakistan-Taliban conflict
Timeline on embassy attacks
Latest News
Obama meets with Pakistani prime minster

Bombing at Shiite mosque kills 10 in southwest Pakistan

12 years after girl strayed into Pakistan, woman going home

Pakistani police jailed after deathbed rape accusation

Pakistan executes 9, including 4 brothers

Landslide hits makeshift homes in Pakistan, killing 13

AP PHOTOS: Selection of Mideast, Afghan and Pakistan photos

Photo Gallery
Pakistan Elections
Multimedia
Child labor in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber targeted a Shiite mosque in southwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 10 people and wounding several others, a government official said.

Provincial home minister Sarfraz Bugti said the attack took place in the district of Sibi, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. He said the suicide attacker entered the mosque as Shiites were holding a gathering ahead of the Ashoura, a key religious event.

Six children were among those killed, Bugti said. The male suicide bomber was wearing a woman's head-to-toe burqa dress to deceive guards, he said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell of Sunni extremists who have been blamed for previous such attacks.

The latest attack came ahead of Ashoura, a 10-day ritual during which Shiites commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Pakistan has boosted security for Ashoura, when minority Shiite Muslims hold public rallies despite threats from Sunni extremists who consider them to be heretics.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's army said Thursday airstrikes overnight killed 21 "terrorists" in the villages of Tirah and Rajgal in the Khyber region.

The military provided no further details about Wednesday's strikes, and the information could not be corroborated as journalists are barred from tribal areas. Pakistan has been waging a military offensive against al-Qaida and other militants in the North Waziristan province bordering Afghanistan since June 2014.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is currently visiting the United States and will meet with President Barack Obama later on Thursday.

---

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Latest News
Advertisement