Pakistani troops were deployed on the streets of Karachi today to curb rioting and vandalism that flared in the southern city for a third day following a suicide bombing that killed 57 people at a Sunni Muslim prayer service.

A suicide attacker today detonated a bomb at a mass prayer service in southern Pakistan, police said, killing at least 41 other people including the top leadership of an influential Sunni Muslim religious group.

Security was tightened across Pakistan today during a strike called by radical Islamic groups to protest against the Prophet Mohammed drawings, with most shops and businesses closed in several cities.