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Twin blasts outside Shi'ite mosques in Pakistan, 15 dead

by Reuters
Friday, 26 July 2013 14:27 GMT

PARACHINAR, Pakistan, July 26 (Reuters) - Two explosions targeting Shi'ite mosques in Pakistan's tribal area on the Afghan border killed at least 15 people on Friday, a doctor and witnesses said.

The first explosion took place just metres away from a Shi'ite mosque near a busy market in Parachinar, capital of the tribal Kurram area. It was followed closely by a second blast, outside another mosque in the town.

Sabir Hussain, a doctor at the Agency Headquarters Hospital, said 15 dead bodies and 45 people with serious wounds had been brought to his hospital.

Taliban-linked insurgents are a main source of instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan, but sectarian violence by Sunni militants, who see Shi'ites as heretics, has also been growing.

Parachinar has a significant Shi'ite population, who have previously been attacked by hardline Sunni militant groups. (Reporting by Javed Hussain; Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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