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bomb attack
At least 21 people have been killed and other 52 injured in a bomb attack on Banex Plaza shopping center in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
The explosion, near the popular Banex plaza shopping complex in Wuse district, could be heard from miles away and sent plumes of smoke into the air.
At least 21 people have been killed and other 52 injured in a bomb attack on Banex Plaza shopping center in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja
Government spokesman Mike Omeri confirmed the blast was the result of a bomb.
No claims of responsibility have been reported.
Islamist militant group Boko Haram has bombed targets across northern Nigeria in recent years.
Boko Haram has staged previous attacks in Abuja, but most of its targets have been in the north-east of the country.
In April, more than 70 people were killed in a bomb blast at a bus stop on the outskirts of the capital in an attack claimed by Boko Haram.
Boko Haram also said it was behind a car bomb attack near a bus station in the suburbs in May, which killed at least 19 people and injured 60 others.
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A huge explosion rocked an area near Banex Plaza shopping centre in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Wednesday, two witnesses said.
The blast hit Abuja’s Wuse 2 district, reports said.
It is not yet clear what was behind the explosion. Emergency services are attending the scene.
Boko Haram has staged previous attacks in Abuja, but most of its targets have been in the north-east of the country
Nigeria, including the capital, has experienced several bomb attacks in recent months. Many places have been targeted by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram.
Manzo Ezekiel, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, told AFP news agency: “You can see smoke billowing from the sky. It’s a very crowded place.”
One witness said the blast shattered shop windows, and that people could be seen running out of the shopping centre with blood on their clothes.
Boko Haram has staged previous attacks in Abuja, but most of its targets have been in the north-east of the country.
In April, more than 70 people were killed in a bomb blast at a bus stop on the outskirts of the capital in an attack claimed by Boko Haram.
In May, a car bomb near a bus station in the suburbs killed at least 19 people and injured 60 others.
The group has hit Abuja several times before, including an attack on the UN national headquarters in 2011.
Two blasts in the Kenyan capital Nairobi has killed at least 10 people and injured scores more.
Police said two improvised explosive devices had been detonated in the sprawling Gikomba market.
Meanwhile hundreds of UK tourists were evacuated from the coastal resort area of Mombasa amid warnings of an attack.
In recent years, Kenya has been hit by a spate of attacks, mostly been blamed on the al-Shabab militant Islamist group from neighboring Somalia.
The Kenyan National Disaster Operation Centre said the first explosion occurred in a minibus, the second in the large open-air Gikomba market.
Two people were reportedly arrested near the scene of the explosions.
Police said two improvised explosive devices had been detonated in the sprawling Gikomba market
Pictures from the scene showed clothing blown onto telephone wires above.
Fire engines and the Red Cross were at the scene tending the injured.
Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi said at least 70 people had been wounded.
“Many of the injured are bleeding profusely. We need a lot of blood,” a spokesman said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed to fight “evil” terrorism following the attacks.
“All of us around the world must be united to ensure that we are able to fight this particular terror,” he said at a news conference.
Earlier this week, authorities tightened security at bus stations. They also ordered all vehicles to have clear glass windows.
Friday’s bombings took place two days after the UK, France and the US warned there was a high threat of attacks in Kenya.
Kenya had criticized the warnings, saying the tourism industry would be affected.
Correspondents say many Kenyans are expressing their frustration at the worsening insecurity.
The government recently rounded up refugees of Somali origin in an attempt to rid Nairobi of militants they believe to be hiding among refugees.
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Three blasts that appeared to target the police force have killed 5 people in Cairo.
Nearly 70 people have been wounded following the attacks.
The attacks began with a powerful car bomb that exploded outside the police headquarters in central Cairo, killing four people and wounding 51.
Within hours, two other blasts occurred elsewhere in the city, killing one person and injuring 15.
The attacks come on the eve of the third anniversary of the 2011 uprising.
The revolution brought about the removal of the country’s decades-long ruler Hosni Mubarak.
An al-Qaeda-inspired militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem) has admitted carrying out the attack on the police headquarters.
The group previously claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on a security building in the northern city of Mansoura in December that killed 16 people and injured more than 100 others.
Three blasts that appeared to target the police force have killed 5 people in Cairo
The authorities blamed Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood for that attack – something the group strongly denied – and declared it a terrorist group shortly afterwards.
Egyptian Interior Minister Muhammad Ibrahim said security is being stepped up around the squares where people are expected to gather to mark Saturday’s anniversary.
“We have a plan to secure all of this for the anniversary of the 25 January revolution,” he said.
“I am telling the people not to be afraid and go down.”
The Muslim Brotherhood condemned the attack that hit police headquarters at around 06:30 local time.
The group called for an investigation and added they were part of a “peaceful revolution”.
The powerful blast was felt across the city and black smoke could be seen rising over the scene.
Gunfire was reportedly heard soon after the blast, and more than 30 ambulances raced to the scene.
There was extensive damage to the large concrete building with debris strewn across the street.
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At least 10 people are killed and more than 20 others hurt in a suspected suicide bombing in the Russian city of Volgograd, in what officials say is the second suicide attack there in less than two days.
The blast comes in less than 24 hours after 17 people died in another suicide attack at the central station in the city.
Security has been tightened at railway stations and airports across Russia.
Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run-up to the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi.
The Olympic venue is close to Russia’s volatile north Caucasus region.
Volgograd lies about 900 km south of Moscow, 650 km north of the North Caucasus and 700 km north-east of Sochi.
The latest explosion took place near a busy market in the city’s Dzerzhinsky district.
The latest explosion in Volgograd took place near a busy market in the city’s Dzerzhinsky district
Maksim Akhmetov, a Russian TV reporter who was at the scene of the blast, said the trolleybus was packed with people going to work in the morning rush hour.
He described the scene as “terrible”, adding that the bus was “ravaged” and that there were “bodies everywhere, blood on the snow”.
The explosion removed much of the bus’s exterior and broke windows in nearby buildings.
The figures given for the number of dead and injured are still fluctuating – and a one-year-old child is said to be among the victims.
A spokesman for Russia’s Investigative Committee said both explosions were now being treated as acts of terrorism.
Sunday’s blast rocked Volgograd-1 station at around 12:45 at a time of year when millions of Russians are travelling to celebrate the New Year.
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A female suicide bomb attack on Volgograd’s train station has killed 15 people, Russian officials say.
Another suspected female suicide bomber killed at least six people when she attacked a bus in the city in October.
Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run up to the 2014 winter Olympic Games in Sochi in February.
An Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus region has led to many attacks there in recent years. Insurgents have also attacked big Russian towns.
Volgograd lies about 900 km south of Moscow, 650 km north of the North Caucasus and 700 km north-east of Sochi.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered law enforcement agencies to take “all necessary security measures” in the bomb’s aftermath, said a Kremlin spokesman.
Vladimir Putin has ordered the most gravely injured victims to be flown to Moscow for treatment.
Security would be stepped up at train stations and airports, said a federal police spokesman.
Sunday’s explosion rocked Volgograd-1 station at around 12:45 at a time when millions of Russians are travelling to celebrate the New Year.
The bomb contained 10 kg (22 lbs) of TNT, was rigged with shrapnel and was detonated near the metal detectors at the station entrance, said a spokesman for the Investigative Committee.
“According to our information the explosion was carried out by a female suicide bomber who approached a metal detector, saw a policeman there, got nervous and detonated the bomb stuffed with pieces of shrapnel,” said the spokesman, Vladimir Markin.
A nearby security camera facing Volgograd’s train station caught the moment of the blast
He said the security presence had prevented a much higher death toll at the station, which was packed at the time of the blast as several trains were delayed.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, which Vladimir Markin said injured 34 people – eight critically – including a nine-year-old girl whose mother was killed in the attack.
RIA Novosti news agency said security sources were naming the attacker as Oksana Aslanova. She has reportedly been married twice to militants and is also suspected of being a friend of Naida Asiyalova, the suicide bomber who targeted the Volgograd bus in October.
However, the Interfax news agency said the suspect’s head had been found at the site – and, according to an unidentified security source, “it has been established that the suicide terrorist was a man who had brought explosives to the station in a rucksack”.
A nearby security camera facing the station caught the moment of the blast, showing a bright orange flash behind the station’s main doors.
The explosion shattered windows and sent debris and plumes of smoke from the station entrance.
Ambulances rushed the injured to hospital, while motionless bodies were laid out in the station forecourt.
The incident was being treated as an act of terrorism, Vladimir Markin said.
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An amateur video has revealed how off-duty firefighter Matt Patterson came to the rescue of 7-year-old Jane Richard in the Boston Marathon terror attack which killed her 8-year-old brother Martin.
Matt Patterson wearing a red T-shirt is seen rushing to the aid of little Jane Richard, who lost a leg in the attack and remains hospitalized in a critical condition.
Jane Richard is seen sitting up and then lying in the middle of the road, moments after standing on the sidelines where she was photographed alongside her brother Martin.
The photograph reveals how Jane and Martin Richard were standing just yards from terror suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Following the bomb attack others are filmed standing around stunned but Matt Patterson leaps into action.
Just before the explosion the firefighter had been enjoying a meal with his girlfriend in a nearby restaurant.
Matt Patterson wearing a red T-shirt is seen rushing to the aid of Jane Richard, who lost a leg in the Boston Marathon attack and remains hospitalized in a critical condition
“This child for some reason just jumped at me – it was tunnel vision,” Matt Patterson said.
“I could see the damage. I could see that she needed a tourniquet. She needed surgery, it was obvious from what I saw.”
“I go up to a business guy and ask for his belt, he hands it over without hesitation. I have to stop the bleeding. I am making the tourniquet and another man comes and I ask him to hold it for pressure. I’m looking up and down the street – looking for where I can bring the child to an ambulance or more care.”
Matt Patterson and the other man ran with Jane Richard to a waiting ambulance. The girl has lost a leg and remains in a critical condition in hospital but is expected to survive her injuries.
Yesterday it emerged Jane Richard is an enthusiastic Irish dancer having attended classes at the Clifden Academy of Irish Dance in Milton since the age of three.
Several Irish dance groups are now raising money to support her.
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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction, the US Department of Justice has announced today.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, who was charged in hospital, could face the death penalty.
A White House spokesman has said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will not be treated as an “enemy combatant”, as suggested by some Republican members of Congress.
The twin bomb attack near the Boston Marathon finishing line killed three people, and injured more than 180.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured on Friday evening after a huge manhunt during which his older brother and suspected fellow bomber, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction
He has been unable to speak because of a throat wound, though he has reportedly responded to questions in writing.
As well as a count of using a weapon of mass destruction, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces one count of malicious destruction of property resulting in death, the Department of Justice said in a statement.
In addition to federal charges, prosecutors for the state of Massachusetts, which does not have the death penalty, could file their own.
“He will not be treated as an enemy combatant,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
“We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice.”
The city of Boston is due to observe a moment of silence for the victims at 14:50 local time, exactly one week after the attack.
Also on Monday, a private funeral was being held for 29-year-old restaurant worker Krystle Campbell, who was killed at the marathon finish line after going to watch the race with a friend.
A memorial service was scheduled later for another victim, Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old graduate student from China.
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Fox has decided to pull a recent episode of Family Guy from its websites that depicted people being killed at the Boston Marathon.
The television network says it has no plans to air the episode again soon.
Fox spokeswoman Gaude Paez said Family Guy Boston Marathon episode had been removed from Fox.com.
In the episode, main character Peter Griffin has a flashback about crashing into runners with his car and making friends with a terrorist plotting to blow up a bridge.
When Peter, who is voiced by Seth MacFarlane, dials a mobile phone a friend has given him, explosions and screams are heard in the background.
The episode was originally aired on March 17 in the US.
Fox has decided to pull a recent episode of Family Guy from its websites that depicted people being killed at the Boston Marathon
On some websites in America, an edited clip has been circulating that mixes the two scenes together, making it seem as though the explosion was at the marathon.
Some commenters have since implied that the show “predicted” the bombings.
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane criticised the edited clip on Twitter and offered his condolences to the victims of Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon.
Seth said: “The edited Family Guy clip currently circulating is abhorrent. The event was a crime and a tragedy and my thoughts are with the victims.”
Meanwhile, Film4 has taken the film Four Lions out of its schedule next week after the Boston Marathon bombings.
Chris Morris’s comedy is about a group of British Muslims planning a bomb attack at the London Marathon.
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At least nineteen Shia Muslim pilgrims have been killed by a bomb attack on a bus convoy in southwest Pakistan, local officials say.
More than 20 people have been injured in the incident in the Mastung district of Baluchistan province.
Pakistan has experienced worsening sectarian violence in recent years. Last month 23 Shia Muslims were killed by a bomb in the city of Rawalpindi.
No group has yet said it carried out Sunday’s bombing.
At least nineteen Shia Muslim pilgrims have been killed by a bomb attack on a bus convoy in southwest Pakistan
Initial reports said it had been detonated by remote control but a government official said it had been a suicide attack.
Officials said that some of those injured were in a critical condition and that the death toll may rise.
The bus convoy had reportedly been on their way to neighboring Iran, a Shia-majority country and popular pilgrimage destination.
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At least 21 people have been injured in an explosion on a bus in Tel Aviv, in what one Israeli official described as a “terrorist attack”.
After the incident, near a military headquarters, huge blasts were heard in Gaza – an apparent Israeli strike on the football stadium.
Eleven people were killed in Gaza on Wednesday, the health ministry said.
Efforts to broker a truce between the Hamas movement and Israel continue.
After eight days of exchanges of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now in Cairo for talks with the Egyptian president.
Earlier, Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held talks in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Militants in Gaza have been firing more rockets at Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Ofir Gendelman said on his Twitter account that the explosion was caused by a bomb and that it was a “terrorist attack”.
Of the 21 injured, three were suffering from moderate to light injuries – including shrapnel wounds and burns – and were undergoing surgery, a spokesman for the Ichilov medical centre in Tel Aviv said.
Six had already been released and the rest were suffering from anxiety, he said.
The bus was reportedly passing the military headquarters in the city at the time of the blast.
Police believe a bomb was planted on the bus and they are still searching for a suspect.
At least 21 people have been injured in an explosion on a bus in Tel Aviv, in what one Israeli official described as a terrorist attack
Hamas, the Islamist movement which has governed Gaza since 2007, has praised the attack but has not said it was behind the blast.
Celebratory gunfire reportedly rang out in Gaza when local radio relayed news of the attack.
A series of massive explosions in Gaza, in an apparent Israeli strike on the sports stadium have been reported. Reports from Gaza say the stadium has in the past been used a site to launch rockets.
According to Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs, the last bomb attack in Tel Aviv was in April 2006, when a suicide bombing on a restaurant killed 11.
The bus blast comes on the eighth day of the current flare-up in violence between Israel and militants in Gaza.
Some 147 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed.
Other sites hit in Gaza included a banker’s villa, tunnels to Egypt used by smugglers and a media office, said to be linked to Hamas, that was situated two floors above the Agence France-Presse office in Gaza City.
The IDF said 62 rockets fired by militants from Gaza had hit Israel so far on Wednesday, while another 20 were intercepted by its Iron Dome missile defence system.
The latest violence will further complicate ceasefire discussions taking place in the region.
The two international mediators are both expected to hold talks with Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi in Cairo.
In the West Bank, Ban Ki-moon expressed “profound concern” at the civilian casualties in Gaza and also called on militants to end immediately their “indiscriminate attacks on Israeli population centres”.
Hillary Clinton held talks with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem before heading to Cairo.
Officials from Hamas had suggested on Tuesday that a truce would come into effect at midnight, but Israel later said it had not agreed to a text.
Israel’s demands include no hostile fire of any kind from Gaza and international efforts to prevent Hamas from re-arming, while Hamas is demanding an end to the blockade on Gaza and targeted killings by Israel.
Israel launched its current offensive a week ago with the killing of Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari. The Israeli government says his assassination, and the subsequent offensive, is designed to end rocket fire from Gaza.
Israel has troops massed along the Gaza border but says it is holding off on a possible ground invasion as talks continue.
Ceasefire demands
Israel
- No more hostile fire from Gaza
- International moves to stop Hamas rearming
- Prevent militants crossing to Sinai Peninsula
- Extended period of quiet for southern Israel
Hamas
- End to Israeli “aggression”
- End to blockade of Gaza
- No more targeted killings by Israel
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A bomb attack in the north-west Pakistani city of Buner has killed local anti-Taliban politician Fateh Khan and three of his guards, police sources say.
Fateh Khan, an ex-leader of the secular Awami National Party, was killed as his car left a petrol station.
It was not immediately clear if he was victim of a suicide attack or of a bomb placed on a motorcycle.
Security forces largely freed Buner from the control of Taliban militants three years ago.
District police chief Jehanzeb Khan told AFP news agency a suicide bomber had blown himself up in front of Fateh Khan’s vehicle, killing the politician and his guards.
Up to five people were also injured in the attack, he said.
According to Pakistan’s Express Tribune, Fateh Khan was a former ANP leader who had recently joined the Qaumi Watan Party.
Fateh Khan was also the head of a local tribal anti-Taliban force.
ANP leaders have been a regular target of the Taliban in this region but that this is the first suicide attack there for several months.
At least seven people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a bomb attack in Gaziantep, south-eastern Turkey, security sources and media say.
The suspected car bomb exploded close to a police station in Gaziantep, Turkey’s Dogan news agency reported.
Police officers were reported to be among the casualties and media showed a bus and other vehicles on fire.
At least seven people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a bomb attack in Gaziantep
No group has so far said it carried out the attack.
However, rebels from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are active in south-eastern Turkey, which has a Kurdish majority.
Gaziantep’s governor Erdal Ata said the explosion had been caused by a remote-controlled car bomb, the Dogan agency said.
Earlier on Monday, two Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded in a mine blast in south-eastern Hakkari province. Turkish officials blamed the attack on the PKK.
Clashes between the PKK – which seeks autonomy for the Kurds – and Turkey’s armed forces have increased in south-eastern Turkey over the past year.
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Syrian television reports that a bomb has exploded on the third floor of the state TV and radio building in the capital, Damascus.
Three people were reported wounded and the explosion caused some damage but state TV continued broadcasting.
Rebel forces took over several areas of Damascus in recent weeks, but the army has since regained control of the city.
More than 20,000 troops are now aiming to wrest control of the country’s second city, Aleppo, from the rebels.
A bomb has exploded on the third floor of Syrian state TV and radio building in the capital, Damascus
The explosion in Umawiyeen Square in central Damascus had “ripped the floor” but had left the transmission of the three Syrian channels unaffected.
Pro-government TV channel al-Ikhbariya showed pictures of staff looking after an injured colleague. In June, gunmen attacked its offices, south of Damascus, killing seven people, including journalists and security guards.
Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi told Syrian TV that national media had been targeted in the “desperate and cowardly” attack. An investigation was under way to find out who planted the bomb inside the building, he added.
State TV’s buildings have also been attacked in many provincial cities, most recently in Aleppo.
The army has surrounded Aleppo, Syria’s commercial capital, and tanks have tried to push into two key rebel-held areas, Salah al-Din and Saif al-Dawla, which lie on the main road into the city.
A rebel commander was one of nine people killed in Salah al-Din on Monday, according to British-based group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
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At least 18 people have been killed and other 34 have been injured in a bomb attack on a bus carrying government employees in north west Pakistan.
The bus is said to have been taking the workers to their offices when it was hit on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar.
Peshawar lies near Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt – a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.
Hundreds have died in attacks in and around the city in recent years.
No group has so far said it carried out the latest attack, but it comes a day after a bomb killed at least 15 people in the Pakistani city of Quetta.
It is believed explosives were planted in a roadside vehicle and remotely detonated as the bus passed on Friday.
At least 18 people have been killed and other 34 have been injured in a bomb attack on a bus carrying government employees in north west Pakistan
Witnesses said the explosion seemed to hit the back of the bus, which was moving at speed and drove on for some distance after the blast.
Police say the bus was carrying employees from Peshawar to Charsadda and that it appeared to be the target of the attack.
The explosion took place near a police station on a main road in the Gul Bela village area, on the northern outskirts of Peshawar.
The dead and injured were rushed to hospitals in Peshawar. The dead are thought to include at least four children and some women.
Red Cross officials say at least 16 people have been killed in a gun and bomb attack at Bayero University in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano.
Six others were in a serious condition following the attack at Bayero University campus where Christian worshippers were holding a service.
Nigerian police are searching for the gunmen.
No group has said it launched the attack, but the violent Islamist Boko Haram group is active in Kano. It has recently attacked churches.
Nigeria’s central government has struggled to contain the militant group, which operates mainly in the predominantly Muslim north, but has also struck as far south as the capital, Abuja.
Sunday’s attack took place in one of the lecture theatres used as a place of worship by Christians.
A witness told AFP news agency the attackers had first thrown in explosives and fired shots, “causing a stampede among worshippers”.
“They now pursued them, shooting them with guns. They also attacked another service at the sporting complex.”
At least 16 people have been killed in a gun and bomb attack at Bayero University in Nigeria's northern city of Kano
Another witness spoke of “pandemonium”, and said he had seen two men shooting indiscriminately.
Mohammed Suleiman, a history lecturer at the university, said security guards had to run for their lives when the violence broke out.
“For over 30 minutes a series of bomb explosions and gun shots took over the old campus, around the academic blocks,” he told Reuters news agency.
A Red Cross spokesman said adults – possibly professors – and three women were among the casualties. Several needed urgent blood transfusions.
Kano state police spokesman Ibrahim Idris said that by the time police arrived, the attackers had “disappeared into the neighborhood”. A manhunt is under way.
But the situation at the university was now calm, according to the Red Cross spokesman.
Boko Haram carried out a bombing in Kano in January that killed more than 180 people, its deadliest attack to date.
Boko Haram
• 2002: Founded in Maiduguri
• July 2009: Hundreds of members killed when Maiduguri police stations stormed; police capture and kill sect leader Mohammed Yusuf
• Dec 2010: Bombed Jos, killing 80 people; blamed for New Year’s Eve attack on Abuja barracks
• Jun-Aug 2011: Bomb attacks on Abuja police HQ and UN building
• Dec 2011: Multiple bomb attacks on Christmas Day kill dozens
• Jan 2012: Wave of violence across north-east Nigeria; Kano bombing kills at least 180
17 people have been killed and other 20 wounded in a bomb attack on a Shia religious procession in the central Pakistani city of Khanpur.
Police initially thought the blast had been caused by an electrical fault, but later confirmed it was a bomb.
The attack targeted Shias marking the festival of Arbain, one of the main holy days of the Shia calendar.
There have been a number of attacks targeting the minority Shia community, carried out by Sunni militants.
17 people have been killed and other 20 wounded in a bomb attack on a Shia religious procession in the central Pakistani city of Khanpur
The remote-controlled bomb was planted near an electric pole, Sohail Chattha, the area’s police chief, told Reuters news agency.
He said it was set off as the procession approached.
“There was a loud explosion a few yards from the procession and we all scrambled to get away,” Imran Iqbal, who was in the procession, told Reuters.
“Debris was everywhere, and a cloud of dust engulfed us. Many people died on the spot.”
Cameras captured the sound of the blast – which silenced the mourning chants of the marchers – followed by the sight of a cloud of dust rising into the sky.
As the dust cleared, the wounded dragged themselves from the scene of the blast, their cries filling the air, he said.
Ambulances arrived quickly and rushed the injured to local hospitals.
Angry members of the procession later clashed with the police amid accusations that the security provided had been inadequate.
No organization has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, our correspondent says.
But South Punjab is home turf to Pakistan’s deadliest Sunni militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which is notoriously anti-Shia, he adds.
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