Death toll rises to 98 in Pak mosque attacks
Sunday, 30 May 2010
ISLAMABAD, May 29 (CNN): The death toll from attacks on a religious minority in eastern Pakistan has risen to 98, officials said Saturday.
About 110 more people were wounded in the attacks, said Sajjad Bhutta, a senior government official.
They took place Friday in two mosques in Lahore when attackers with bombs and firearms targeted houses of worship belonging to the Ahmadi sect, a persecuted religious group.
Most of the dead -- 75 -- were killed at the place of worship in the Model Town neighborhood, Bhutta said. The remaining 23 were killed in the Garhi Shahu neighborhood, he said.
Witnesses and officials said the attackers tossed hand grenades and fired weapons, including AK-47s. In the Model Town attack, one of the gunmen was critically injured and another was detained, police said.
Ahmadis regard themselves as Muslim, but the government says they aren't, and many Muslim extremists have targeted them. Sunni and Shiite Muslims say Ahmadis are not Muslim because they do not regard Mohammed as the last prophet sent by God.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a nongovernmental organization, deplored the attacks and said it had warned the Punjab provincial government about threats to the Ahmadi community center in Model Town for more than a year. Lahore is the capital of Punjab province.
About 110 more people were wounded in the attacks, said Sajjad Bhutta, a senior government official.
They took place Friday in two mosques in Lahore when attackers with bombs and firearms targeted houses of worship belonging to the Ahmadi sect, a persecuted religious group.
Most of the dead -- 75 -- were killed at the place of worship in the Model Town neighborhood, Bhutta said. The remaining 23 were killed in the Garhi Shahu neighborhood, he said.
Witnesses and officials said the attackers tossed hand grenades and fired weapons, including AK-47s. In the Model Town attack, one of the gunmen was critically injured and another was detained, police said.
Ahmadis regard themselves as Muslim, but the government says they aren't, and many Muslim extremists have targeted them. Sunni and Shiite Muslims say Ahmadis are not Muslim because they do not regard Mohammed as the last prophet sent by God.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a nongovernmental organization, deplored the attacks and said it had warned the Punjab provincial government about threats to the Ahmadi community center in Model Town for more than a year. Lahore is the capital of Punjab province.