30 PEOPLE KILLED WHEN BOMBER HITS KARACHI PROCESSION

At least 30 people have been killed after a suicide bomber struck a procession of Shia Muslims in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, according to police sources.

The explosion struck on Monday as Shia worshippers marked Ashoura, the holiest event on the Shia Muslim calendar.
Police sources told Al Jazeera that at least 80 people were injured in the blast, with many of those in a critical condition.

• The attack sparked riots in Karachi with angry mourners throwing stones at ambulances, torching cars and shops and firing bullets into the air.
• "A deliberate attempt seems to be afoot by the extremists to turn the fight against militants into a sectarian clash and make the people fight against one another," Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, said in a statement.
• The Pakistan Rangers, a paramilitary force, took control of several restive areas of Karachi after the blast, officials said.
• "People have been saying that the government has been apathetic to the listening to the warnings of potential attacks and people's fears," Talat Hussain, the director of news at the local AAJ TV, told Al Jazeera.
• "Any number of groups come to mind who may have carried out the attack. The game clearly is to disrupt Pakistan."
• Rehman Malik, the interior minister, called for people to show restraint and asked that Shia processions over the next two days be cancelled following the attack.

Source: Al Jazeera