Day two of religious violence in Pakistan's Dera Ismail Khan: 5 killed

GlobalPost

Pakistani police said a bomb attack on a Shiite procession today killed five and injured at least 70 a day after a similar strike in the same city left seven dead, reported Reuters

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Local hospital official Dr. Faridullah Mahsud told the Associated Press the attack left several people in critical condition. He also said three paramilitary soldiers, part of a force stationed there in response to security concerns, had been wounded. 

The attacks on Pakistan's northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan comes as Shiites worldwide mark Ashoura, a major religious event that some Sunni Muslims consider sacrilegious due to the two sects' dispute over the true descendent of the Prophet Muhammad. 

Shiite survivor Qais Abbas, whose relative was among the wounded, said the city's medical services were under strain due to the violence. "Here we are not getting proper care for them, there are not enough doctors or medicines," he told AP

Attacks on Shiites have taken at least 30 lives in Pakistan in the past five days, according to AP

Reuters said the explosive was believed hidden in a shop beside a street market and was detonated as the Shiite gathering passed by.

Ashoura is a very public affair that often sees elaborate street rituals mourning the death of Imam Hussein bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. 

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