Two Bombs Kill Scores in Pakistan
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
MULTAN, Pakistan – Two bombs exploded at a gathering of Sunni Muslim radicals in the central Pakistan city of Multan before dawn today, killing at least 36 people and wounding about 100, police said.
Police immediately suspected a sectarian attack. The bombing comes less than a week after a suicide attack left 31 dead at a Shiite mosque in an eastern city.
About 3,000 people had gathered in a residential area of Multan to mark the first anniversary of the killing of the leader of the outlawed Sunni terror group, Sipah-e-Sahaba.
A car bomb exploded near the venue as people were starting to disperse after the overnight meeting, and two minutes later a second bomb attached to a motorcycle went off, deputy city police chief Arshad Hameed said.
“It seems to be an act of sectarian terrorism, but we are still investigating,” he said.
He said that at least 36 people were killed, but Arif Saeed, an official at the Nishtar government hospital, said at least 38 people were killed and more than 100 people were wounded, about 50 seriously. Some 50 others were treated for minor injuries and later discharged. Other people had been taken to other clinics.
