An apparent suicide bomber killed more than 10 people and wounded others in an attack on police guarding Islamists who were marking the anniversary of an army commando raid on the Red Mosque in Pakistan’s capital.
Senior police official Kamran Adil said most of the victims were police, who were the primary target.
The blast happened several hundred metres from the mosque, after a tightly guarded meeting of Islamists there had ended.
Worshippers could be seen streaming out of the mosque after the explosion. Sirens were heard across the city as ambulances raced towards the scene on what had been a quiet evening.
”Police were going back to their stations when it happened,” said Adil. ”We picked up more than 10 bodies, there are also many wounded, most of them police. The primary target was our men.”
Top city official Rana Akbar said a suicide bomber was believed to have attacked the policemen.
Earlier on Sunday, several thousand Islamists vowed support for jihad as they gathered at the mosque to mark the first anniversary of an army raid on the complex.
More than 100 people were killed when commandos stormed the mosque complex, which included a madrasa or Islamic seminary, on July 10 last year, after a week-long siege that began when gunmen from the mosque clashed with police outside.
Speakers told a crowd of several thousand, most of them men, that United States ally President Pervez Musharraf was to blame for the bloodshed last year. – Reuters