At least 12 women and children were killed and 30 injured when a bomb ripped through a gathering of minority Shiite Muslims in Pakistan last night.
A police official said the attack occurred in the Bhakkar district of central Punjab province, where 10,000 devotees were mourning the death of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussain.
Mr Altaf said the bomb exploded just before midnight (7 p.m. Irish time) in an area of the crowd that was segregated for women and children.
"It appears to be a terrorist attack," the official said, referring to sectarian violence between extremists from Pakistan's majority Sunni sect and the smaller Shiite community.
Police said they suspected the bomb was detonated with a time delay device. They said a female may have carried the device into the crowd as women were not searched as they entered the area.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. On February 26th, gunmen killed 11 people at a Shiite mosque in the central city of Rawalpindi.
AFP