Suicide attack wounds 8 at Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistani city, officials say

Suicide bombing at Pakistani mosque wounds 8

ISLAMABAD — A suicide bomber ran past guards at a minority Shiite mosque in eastern Pakistan then blew himself up Sunday, wounding eight worshippers, officials said.

The attack appeared to be the latest in a string by Sunni extremists against other Muslims they consider infidels.

It took place in Sargodha city, which is in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province and its political heartland.

The region is increasingly coming under attack by al-Qaida and Taliban militants who have logistics and training centers close to the Afghan border several hundred miles (kilometers) away.

Government official Zulfikar Shah said guards at the mosque tried to stop the suicide attacker, but he evaded them.

Sargodha police chief Bashir Ahmad said eight people had been taken to the hospital, two of whom were in critical condition. The attacker apparently was not more than 17-years-old, he added.

Earlier this month, militants bombed a Muslim shrine in the Punjabi city of Lahore, killing more than 40 people.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was visiting Pakistan on Sunday, but was meeting officials hundreds of miles (kilometers) away in the capital of Islamabad.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack and termed it an attempt by terrorists to trigger a sectarian clash.