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SLUG: 2-313704 Pak Attack (S-O)
DATE: NOTE NUMBER: |
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DATE=3/2/04 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITILE=PAKISTAN / ATTACK (S-O) NUMBER=2-313704 BYLINE=AYAZ GUL DATELINE=ISLAMABAD INTRO: In Pakistan, gunmen have killed at least nine people in an attack on a procession of Shiite Muslim mourners marking a major religious holiday. Hospital officials say the death toll could rise because some people have been seriously wounded. Ayaz Gul reports from Islamabad. TEXT: Police and witnesses in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta say unknown gunmen opened fire on a procession of hundreds of Shiite Muslims as they marked the Muharram holiday. Officials say there was also a powerful explosion at the scene immediately after the gunfire. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan has condemned the deadly attack. /// KHAN ACT /// This is definitely a dastardly act and this is condemnable. The initial reports that we have received are very disturbing. /// END ACT /// Angry Shiite mourners went on rampage after the attack. Provincial authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew in the city. Troops are patrolling the streets in an effort to prevent further violence. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack in Quetta where a suicide attack on a Shiite mosque last July killed more than 50 people. The incident is being linked to the ongoing rivalry between extremist Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Pakistan that has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years. (SIGNED) NEB/AG/KBK/RAE |
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