41 die as suicide bomber targets Sunni leaders

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.

Niaz Siddiqui, chief of police in Karachi, where the attack happened, said the attacker blew himself up while sitting behind leaders of the Sunni Tehrik (Urdu for Movement) religious group, one of several Muslim organisations that organised the service in Nishtar Park.

“The bomber used about five kilograms (11 lbs) of explosives obtained locally,” Siddiqui said.