By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Seven people were killed and at least 20 injured in a suicide attack on a mosque in Peshawar Thursday evening despite heavy security in the light of Muharram, the Muslim month of mourning.
“Seven people were killed and several, including women and children, injured in the attack on a Shia mosque when the people were attending a mourning session,” Peshawar nazim (administrator) Haji Ghulam Ali told IANS.
He said that while the priest was making speech a young man not more than 22 years of age jumped into the mosque and blew himself killing four and injuring many. The attacker was also killed.
The government has made elaborate security arrangements for Muharram, during which extremists from the Shia and Sunni communities have attacked each others’ mosques in the past.
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) capital Peshawar is already in the grip of violence with clashes between militants and security agencies, particularly in the tribal belt bordering the province and Afghanistan.