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SLUG: 2-324959 Pakistan Violence (L-O)
DATE: NOTE NUMBER: |
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DATE=5/31/05 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=PAKISTAN/ VIOLENCE (L-ONLY) NUMBER=2-324959 BYLINE=BENJAMIN SAND DATELINE=ISLAMABAD CONTENT= HEADLINE: Suicide Bomb Attack, Riots Leave 11 Dead, Many Others Injured in Pakistan
INTRO: Pakistani police Tuesday recovered the bodies of six men killed during violent protests in Karachi. As VOA's Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad, the riots erupted after a suicide attack at a Shi'ite mosque in the city killed five people and injured 26 others. TEXT: Four of the victims were burned alive when the mob set fire to a crowded restaurant. Police say two others froze to death while they hid in the restaurant freezer. Officials say all six were employees at the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet, a U.S.-based fast food chain. The riots occurred Monday evening after a suicide bomb attack at a Shi'ite mosque in eastern Karachi. Police say three men led the attack. At least one of the men reportedly belonged to a Sunni militant group blamed for previous attacks against Shi'ite, Christian and government targets. Senior police officer Mushtaq Shah says nearly a thousand protesters quickly flooded the surrounding streets after the explosion. /// SHAH ACT /// "The riots started soon after the bombing. About a dozen vehicles have been burned, five or six buses have been bombed, a KFC outlet has been bombed, a couple of gas stations." /// END ACT /// In a separate incident Monday evening unknown assailants in Karachi killed a popular Sunni Muslim cleric. Aslam Mujahid was a senior member of Pakistan's largest Islamic group, Jamaat-e-Islami. Monday's violence comes just three days after a suspected suicide bomb killed at least 19 and injured dozens more at a Shi'ite festival in Islamabad. The government has strongly condemned all three incidents. Meanwhile, Mr. Shah says police in Karachi are bracing for a possible rise in sectarian violence. /// SHAH ACT /// "We've put the entire force on high alert and we have deployed our reserves on the streets at important points." /// END ACT /// Besides being Pakistan's largest city, Karachi is probably its most violent. Clashes between Sunni and Shi'ite militants are not uncommon. (SIGNED) NEB/HK/BS/KL/FC |
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