You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
India-Pakistan
Many dead in attack on Ashura procession
2006-02-09
At least 22 people have been killed and many injured in a suspected suicide bomb that struck a religious procession in north-west Pakistan. The explosion tore through a crowd of Shia Muslims marking the festival of Ashura in the town of Hangu. No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan has a history of tension between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Troops were sent to maintain a curfew after pilgrims responded to the attack by torching shops and cars.

The explosion erupted in a bazaar as hundreds of people walked in a procession from the main Shia mosque in the town, in North-West Frontier Province. "We thought the bomb was detonated by remote control, but now it appears to be a suicide attack," local police chief Ayub Khan told the Associated Press news agency. One report said the devotees were also sprayed with gunfire. Maulana Khurshid Anwar, a leader of the Shia procession, told AP the explosion happened just as he was about to address the crowd. District administrator Ghani ur-Rehman said the ensuing violence destroyed 60% of the town's bazaar. A judicial inquiry into the attack has been ordered, officials said.
Posted by:Paul Moloney

#16  TopMac, thanks for your work, which we deeply appreciate.

I would join in saying, whatever you like or dont like about the Shia customs, this was an atrocity by Sunni Jihadists against people they brand as heretics.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2006-02-09 15:56  

#15  similar to the Filipino catholics who like to reenact the procession of the cross and the crucifixion..
Posted by: Frank G   2006-02-09 15:13  

#14  How ever strange this may seem the Shia are entitled to this expression of thier faith. Their fore in the fundimentalist Sunni sect are the ones responsible for teh carnage here there can be no doubt.

The Christian faith has had similar sects. Flagellants are pretty common we are just not used to it in what we consider the modern world.
Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom   2006-02-09 14:23  

#13  Thanks TopMac. Your on the ground perspective is many more times valuable than pundit or my speculation. It's good to know you think our rear will be covered in the event of any Iran conflict.

I think the Iranian regime is immune from sanctions. China will buy their oil and supply them with consumer goods. In addition, China and Russia will supply them with medium end arms as well as help them with their missile and nuclear bomb production. There is little or nothing Iran must have from the west, other than time to complete their arsenal. They won't shoot first. Instead they will play cheat and retreat.

While Iran may be restive, I see no hope of an internal revolution. While the Islamic conservatives are supposedly only 20% of the population, they control all the power levers and guns. I have no doubt they will gun down any opposition.
Posted by: ed   2006-02-09 14:17  

#12  I can only speak for the guys around me and they are committed to supporting a democratic government. The old way of doing business is gone. I have met many veterans of the Iraq-Iran war and for the most part they know it was not a soldier's choosing for them to have gone there when they did. That all being said, the men who have stepped up to the plate and joined are in for the long haul, they do not have a choice. I have lost more soldiers killed by the bad guys while they are at home on leave than in direct action. They are marked men, so they and their families depend on the success of the government. My call is they would stand by us, but there will be some internal problems.

I think Iran has more internal problems than everybody knows. UN sanctions would put a whole bunch of pressure on an already unstable government and they are boxed in by allies. Karzai is in the same boat of making it work and Turkey however fickle, isn't a big fan of their neighbor...the only direct action would be if they shoot first and I think then it would be a heavy dose of precision fires they cannot do anything about.
Posted by: TopMac   2006-02-09 13:57  

#11  This must've been in South-Central Hangu. I mean no-where else in Paki-Waki do you have Sunni on Shia violence, eh? Actually, seeing the festivities in Iraq for Ashura, it looked more like an American parade (think a calm version of Mardi Gras, all the color/pomp, but none of the Girls gone Wild or booze) than what I associate with Ashura in the other Muslim lands. I think Top Mac's onto something there. Now, if the rest of the ME and SE Asian majority Muslim countries could act the way Iraq does, we'd be getting somewhere!
Posted by: BA   2006-02-09 13:41  

#10  TopMac, if the US goes into Iran in a big way, what do you think are the chances Iraqi army stay neutral, support the US or turn guns toward the US and coalition forces?
Posted by: ed   2006-02-09 13:37  

#9  I enjoyed Ashura. Last night I celebrated with several hundred soldiers for many hours. You see Ashura has been publically suppressed and forbidden in the army by Saddam. The new Iraqi army sponsored this celebration...the Shiite celebrated and the Sunni, Kurds and Chaldean Christian cooked, brought water, poured chai, stoked fires and by the way a whole bunch of us Americans were there joining the celebration, stirring the vats of food and the serving line and the religious dance. I can't tell you how many battle hardened veterans broke down a cried because they could now openly worship in public and without fear or reprecussion, and I lost count of how many thanked us for giving them this opportunity...I got hugged by 4 of the 5 prayer leaders...Maybe my view is jaded because I live and fight with these guys...but I think maybe we do homework on what we are talking about before we shotgun blast all muslims and make fun of something very important.
Posted by: TopMac   2006-02-09 13:25  

#8  How very hygienic. I remember seeing video footage of some Shia freakoids whacking themselves in a square in Pakistan, and the camera lens got splattered with blood, even though though it was several metres away from the action.
Posted by: Quatermass   2006-02-09 11:14  

#7  Now we know what day to attack and overwhelm the shia, the day after Ashura. The day when they are all in bed with open wounds over their backs and their wives are applyimg linament ans salve. We can also determine which ones don't really believe too strongly.
Posted by: wxjames   2006-02-09 10:18  

#6  The earlier article mention 5,000+ troops deployed in Quetta to keep the peace. Any reason for no huge deployment in Hangu? (Hang You? What a name!)
Posted by: 3dc   2006-02-09 08:34  

#5  Thanks .com - I feel culturally enriched...
Posted by: Howard UK   2006-02-09 08:31  

#4  I drag this out once a year...
Posted by: .com   2006-02-09 08:16  

#3  Black Cadillacs, chanting, AK moon shooting, and flags & banners are a dead giveaways. Please consider smaller, private events, rental cars, cabs and processional dispercements via alternate routes possibly through industrial zones and away from market places and residential areas. Did I say.... industrial zones, whahahahahahaa.
Posted by: Besoeker   2006-02-09 08:00  

#2  Indeed , remember to pack the pic-nic hamper Howard ?

a good ol' pilgrimage to murder , burn and loot , how religiously devote , scum one and all , sunni , shia et all . All willingly backed and stirred by Pak security forces , be it ISI , MI , or IB ...
Posted by: MacNails   2006-02-09 06:29  

#1  Happy Ashura everybody!
Posted by: Howard UK   2006-02-09 06:22  

00:00