Seven killed in Pak mosque shooting

Seven killed in Pak mosque shooting
Reuters

MAR 13: Gunmen opened fire at a Muslim prayer meeting at a mosque in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Monday night, killing seven people and wounding 18 in what police said was the latest in a wave of sectarian violence.

They said the shooting took place at a mosque run by a militant group of the majority Sunni sect of Islam. Government sources said they believed the shooting was a reaction to the killing of 12 members of the minority Shi'ite Muslim sect in a shooting in the nearby town of Shiekhupura on March 4.

Monday's shooting occurred while military ruler General Pervez Musharraf and his Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider were in Lahore.

Hospital sources said four of the wounded were in a critical condition.

Witnesses said two gunmen riding two motorcycles opened fire while people were saying their nightly Isha prayers. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack.

There have been a spate of sectarian killings involving Sunni and Shi'ite militants in recent months. Eight people were killed on March 1 in gunbattles between the two sects in the North West Frontier province bordering Afghanistan.

Differences between the Sunnis and Shi'ites over their Islamic beliefs has often led to violence in recent years in which hundreds of Pakistanis have died.