Sectarian Attack Kills Nine in Pakistan

Three gunmen killed nine people and wounded more than a dozen of others when they opened fire at worshippers in a mosque in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore Monday evening, according to a news dispatch reaching Tuesday.

The attackers arrived at the mosque on two motorcycles and fled after the shooting, according to local police sources.

Witnesses said the three opened fire just as the late evening prayers ended at the mosque controlled by the Sunni extremist group Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan.

Police suspect the hand of the Shiite extremist group, Sipah-i-Mohammad Pakistan, in the incident.

There have been incidents of sectarian violence in Pakistan in the last few months. The worst was in Sheikhopura 40 kilometers east of Lahore on March 4 where fighting between rival groups left 14 people dead, leading to imposition of an indefinite curfew in the area.

Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf last week warned of stern action against "terrorists," saying "I want to say this very categorically that anyone who has indulged in such killings and whosoever is behind these killings, would be taken to task sternly."






People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/