Pakistan police: Bomb kills 13 at Shiite march

MULTAN, Pakistan - The Associated Press

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers stand guard for a Shiite Muslim religious procession in Karachi on January 15, 2012. AFP Photo

A bomb blast ripped through a religious procession in eastern Pakistan on Sunday, killing 13 people and wounding at least 20, police said.

Hundreds of Pakistani Shiites had gathered in the town of Khanpur in Punjab province for a traditional procession to mark the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a revered seventh-century figure.

The explosion went off as the mourners came out of a mosque, said District Police Chief Sohail Chatta. The bomb appeared to have been planted ahead of time in the path of the procession, he said.
Another officer, Ghazanfer Ali, said the crowd of mourners started throwing rocks at police after the blast. and officers had to lob tear gas canisters into the crowd to control them.

Officials had originally thought the explosion came from a malfunctioning electric cable, but later found that there had been a bomb, he said.