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10 killed in suicide attack at Shia shrine in Pakistan

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Suen

Member
KARACHI: At least 10 minority Shia Muslims, including six children, were killed and 12 injured today when a suicide bomber wearing a burqa blew himself up at a shrine in a village in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province as the worshippers gathered to observe the holy month of Moharram.

The bomber entered the Imambargah, used for religious services, in the remote Chalgari area of Kachhi district at the time of evening prayer and exploded his explosive-laden vest.


"At least 10 people were killed and 12 others were wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the shrine," Balochistan home minister Sarfaraz Bugti said.

Bugti said there were six children between 10 and 12 years old among the dead and that some women had also died.

The explosion was heard in a wide area and shattered windows in the nearby vicinity.

Security forces reached the blast site and cordoned off the area.

Police said since the village was in a remote area the rescue workers and paramedical officials were finding it difficult to shift the injured to the only health unit in the area.

"They are now being shifted to Sibi," Bugti said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Sunni extremist groups often target minority Shias.
Last week it was terrorists citizens shooting one of their own minority across the Gulf states, and today we instead get a continuation of Pakistan's story. Some Pakistani, Qatari and Saudi scholars must be full of joy and having a toast. Pakistan will of course not give two fucks about protecting their minorities, certainly not when probably a significant portion of the citizens actually hate them.
 

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
This is horrifying and disgusting.

When you hear people like that murderer justify the slaughter of children by claiming that they are "innocent", would therefore straight go to paradise, and that therefore their slaughter is a "good" thing, it just leaves you speechless. If I remember correctly, that's how the Peshawar massacre was justified.
 

Suen

Member
This is horrifying and disgusting.

When you hear people like that murderer justify the slaughter of children by claiming that they are "innocent", would therefore straight go to paradise, and that therefore their slaughter is a "good" thing, it just leaves you speechless. If I remember correctly, that's how the Peshawar massacre was justified.
It reminds me of Saudi terrorist interrogated by Iraqi forces a few years into the American occupation of Iraq. I still remember some of the stuff they said very clearly. They said Shia blood is impure, that they are justified to kill them and that it's a duty to do so. They also said their sheikh/imam told them if they blow themselves up among Shia muslims they go straight to paradise and have dinner with the prophet Muhammed.

Considering the ideology they follow it's not that strange I suppose:

Rawafid (derogatory for Shia muslims) are a Christian seed planted by the Jews in the land of Zoroastrians - Ibn Taymiya
 
It is instances like this that remind us how poisonous and cruel religion can be. This person honestly believed murdering people was the right thing to do.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Rawafid (derogatory for Shia muslims) are a Christian seed planted by the Jews in the land of Zoroastrians - Ibn Taymiya

facepalm
 

Retsudo

Member
It is instances like this that remind us how poisonous and cruel religion can be. This person honestly believed murdering people was the right thing to do.

I think most of them are just evil fucks, who will use whatever reason to justify their cruelty. And killing in the name of whatever religion you hold, it's just stupid.
 

Suen

Member
Well it seems it didn't take long time:

Suicide Bomber Kills 16 During Shiite Procession in Pakistan

A suicide bomber targeted a Shiite religious procession in the southern Pakistan city of Jacobabad on Friday, killing at least 16 and wounding 35 others, police said.

The attacker hit the procession of Ashoura mourners as it reached the end of its route near a park, said Yar Mohammad Lashari, a Jacobabad police official.

Many of the wounded, including six or seven children, were in critical condition at the city's main hospital and the death toll could rise, he said.


There was no immediate claim of responsibility but suspicion fell on Sunni extremists who have been blamed for previous such attacks.

It came as minority Shiite Muslims marked Ashoura, a 10-day ritual when they commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Shiite Muslims hold public rallies despite threats from Sunni extremists who consider them to be heretics.

A day earlier, a suicide bomber targeted a Shiite mosque in southwest Pakistan, killing at least 10 people and wounding several others in Sibi district of Baluchistan province.

The suicide attacker, disguised in a woman's head-to-toe burqa dress, entered the mosque as people at the mosque held an Ashoura-related gathering.

Six children were among those killed, Baluchistan home minister Sarfaraz Bugti has said.


Pakistani authorities have put heightened security arrangements in place to protect Ashoura events, including sealing off procession routes and suspending cell phone services in certain areas. Paramilitary troops will escort processions and soldiers were on standby for further attacks.

edit: other sites seems to report the number of dead at 20, and one puts it at 14.
 

Suen

Member
and again, since it's in the same region:
One dead in attack on Dhaka Shia

A bomb attack on Shia Muslims in Bangladesh has killed one person and wounded at least 50 others.

Police said several homemade devices were thrown at thousands of worshippers gathering for the annual Ashura procession in the capital, Dhaka.


Leaders of Bangladesh's small Shia minority said it was the first time the procession had been targeted.

In Pakistan, at least 22 were killed on Friday when a suicide bomber attacked an Ashura ceremony in Jacobabad.

The blast happened before dawn on Saturday in the old town area of Dhaka at around 02:00 (20:00 GMT Friday).

Shia Muslims were gathered at the historic Hussaini Dalan, the main Shia site in the city, to start an annual rally to mark the occasion of Ashura.

Police arrested three people at the scene, but have released no information about the possible identity of the attackers.

"It is our apprehension that blasts were carried out only to panic the people and to create a chaotic situation," said Colonel Ziaul Ahsan of the elite Rapid Action Battalion.

"We've recovered two unexploded bombs. These are like explosive devices and almost like grenades and fitted with batteries," local police chief Azizul Haq told the AFP news agency.

None of those taken to hospital were reported to be in critical condition.

During Ashura, Shia Muslims mourn the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad.
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Why can't they just let them be "wrong" in their religious practices? What's the ideological reason for killing them?

Even in hardcore fundamentalist Islam, don't some groups have the option to convert or be subjugated? Why is the sectarian option to kill each other instead of forcing conversion or something.
 

Suen

Member
Not in the South Asian region but:

Shia pilgims killed in Iraq - Tuz Khurma. Last night 9 pilgrims were killed and 20-22 were wounded. Four of the dead were three kids and their mother.
 

BobLoblaw

Banned
So what's the current kill count due to someone else's religion? It's over a billion historically, right? I'll just never understand things like this.
 
I find amusing (and with that, I mean depressing and very telling of human nature) the relative small amount of time that the Islam as religion/group remained united. The moment the prophet Muhammed died was the moment the people started fighting for their own gain, producing then divisions and sects.
For being related to the divine (a religion), it's actually incredibly mundane.
 

Walpurgis

Banned
This is absurd. I didn't know that this was so common. The international community needs to put pressure on Pakistan to educate people so that this doesn't happen. It's so sad that these people are just going to pray and getting killed for it. I can't imagine living in such fear.
 

Suen

Member
So what's the current kill count due to someone else's religion? It's over a billion historically, right? I'll just never understand things like this.
I'm pretty sure the minorities killed and those alive living in fear don't understand it either.
 
Why can't they just let them be "wrong" in their religious practices? What's the ideological reason for killing them?

Even in hardcore fundamentalist Islam, don't some groups have the option to convert or be subjugated? Why is the sectarian option to kill each other instead of forcing conversion or something.
It took centuries of warfare in Europe for the Catholics and Protestants to stop killing each other. I think they'll just have to work this out.
 

Suen

Member
It took centuries of warfare in Europe for the Catholics and Protestants to stop killing each other. I think they'll just have to work this out.
The terrorists follow an ideology that openly states that the Muslims they are killing are heretics that must be killed. Heck, read even the quote in my first post. How do you deal with that? Want to change it by force? Good luck, that small change someone would attempt to do would eventually piss off 80 % of the muslim world while the remaining 20 % would get even more fucked.
 

Walpurgis

Banned
The terrorists follow an ideology that openly states that the Muslims they are killing are heretics that must be killed. Heck, read even the quote in my first post. How do you deal with that? Want to change it by force? Good luck, that small change someone would attempt to do would eventually piss off 80 % of the muslim world while the remaining 20 % would get even more fucked.

Saudi Arabia is the root of all this. They need to be delegitimised and sanctioned. However, I'm afraid that the damage has already been done. If SA were to disappear off this earth, the hate would not. I fear what would fill the vacuum.
 

Suen

Member
Saudi Arabia is the root of all this. They need to be delegitimised and sanctioned. However, I'm afraid that the damage has already been done. If SA were to disappear off this earth, the hate would not. I fear what would fill the vacuum.
It has spread as far as Malaysia and Indonesia, two countries that didn't really give a shit about what sect or branch someone belonged to. While Muslim minorities are not getting openly bombed or killed in those countries (only a matter of time) they are oppressed and even forbidden to practice their faith/rituals or whatever you want to call it. So yeah, it may have started with Saudi Arabia, but it has infested itself almost everywhere, from America to Europe to Asia to Africa. ISIS is more multinational than the fucking coalition set up by the West.
 

Suen

Member
Back to South Asia:

Islamic State claims responsibility for Bangladesh Shiite shrine bombing

At least one person was killed and nearly 80 wounded Saturday in a bomb attack on the main Shiite shrine in the Bangladeshi capital as thousands gathered for the annual Ashura procession, police said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the Reuters news agency reports.

Police said it was believed to be first time Bangladesh's tiny Shiite Muslim community has been targeted and came just weeks after an Italian aid worker and a Japanese farmer were shot dead in attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.

Officers said a 14-year-old boy died on the spot after three small bombs were thrown at the complex of the Hossaini Dalan, the main Shiite site in the old Mughal quarter of Dhaka, at about 2:00 am Saturday (2000 GMT Friday).

"There were some 20,000 people in and outside the building at that time. They were preparing to hold the annual Muharram mourning procession when the three (bombs) were exploded," deputy commissioner of Dhaka Police Mofiz Uddin Ahmed told AFP.

The attacks come as Shiites around the world mark the holy month of Moharram, with Pakistan's Shiites also suffering sectarian violence this week after two suicide blasts killed at least 27 people.

In Bangladesh, television showed live footage of the chaos in the aftermath of the blasts with people, many holding flags, fleeing and ambulances taking the injured to hospital.

Local police chief Azizul Haq said at least one person was killed and around 80 injured in the attack, which took place on the premises of the 17th century religious site.

"We've recovered two unexploded bombs. These are like explosive devices and almost like grenades and fitted with batteries," Haq told AFP, adding one person had been detained.


Police inspector Mozammel Hoque told AFP that most of the injured were hit by bomb splinters but no-one was in critical condition.

"Some 50 were brought to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. A 14-year-old boy was brought in dead. He died due to the explosion," he said.
Blast hit Ashura mourners

Ashura marks the climax of the holy month of Muharram when Shiites hold processions and gatherings to mourn the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussain at the Battle of Karbala in Iraq in 680 AD.

Witnesses told the mass-circulation daily Prothom Alo that many mourners fell to the ground as loud explosions went off just at the main gate of the Hossaini Dalan, the most important prayer and congregation site for Bangladesh's Shiites.

Roni, who uses one name, said mourners in black were holding prayers just before the procession when he heard 8-10 explosions and saw a fire.

"It seems the attackers had taken position inside the gathering," Dhaka police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia told reprters, adding that the blasts were pre-planned and aimed at creating instability.

Police stepped up security at Shiite mosques across the country immediately after the attack, while mourners in Dhaka's Mohammadpur neighbourhood said they had banned women and children from the procession.

"We've been observing this mourning procession here for centuries. But we've never seen any incident like this. We demand a quick and fair investigation into the blasts," a leader of the Shiite community at Hossaini Dalan told reporters.

The explosions come as tensions run high in Bangladesh after the Islamic State group claimed its first attacks in the mainly moderate Sunni Muslim-majority country of 160 million people.

Police and the authorities, however, have rejected the claim that IS was responsible, saying they do not believe the group is active in the country.

While the blasts are believed to be the first attack on Shiites in Bangladesh, in the past two years banned Islamist militant groups have killed more than a dozen Sufi Muslims and attacked Hindus and Christians.

Experts say Islamist militants pose a growing danger in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, warning that a long-running political crisis has radicalised opponents of the government.

The killing of four atheist bloggers since the turn of the year has also undermined the government's efforts to play down the threat posed by hardliners, experts say.
I bolded some parts but honestly most of it is worth reading.
 
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