Sectarian tensions heightened across Pakistan

A suicide bomber killed a police officer protecting a Shia Muslim procession in north-western Pakistan today, while rocket fire injured 11 worshippers at a Shia mosque, stoking fears of sectarian bloodshed as the holy festival of Ashoura builds towards its climax.

There is concern that the Sunni-Shia violence raging in Iraq is feeding Pakistan’s own sectarian conflict, which analysts say could erode the stability of a country already struggling to contain Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

The suicide attacker struck in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, where police were frisking everyone entering an area where a Shia procession was scheduled. The bomber refused to be searched and detonated explosives hidden beneath his clothes, said Sarfaraz Khan, a senior city police officer.

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said one policeman and one civilian were killed. Seven others were hurt, including three policemen, one of them seriously.

Police, who initially reported that both fatalities were police officers, gathered what were believed to be remains of the bomber, including part of a bearded human face. The procession was cancelled.

A similar attack on Saturday near a Shia mosque in another north-western city, Peshawar, killed 15 people and wounded more than 30 others, mostly police.

No claims of responsibility have been made for either attack, but Sunni Muslim extremists have repeatedly targeted Shias during the Ashoura festival, when Shias mourn the death of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

Earlier, two intelligence officials said agents had picked up six men during raids in Dera Ismail Khan on suspicion of planning suicide attacks during Ashoura. The agents had found suicide belts in the raids.

In today’s rocket attack, two projectiles landed near a mosque in the city of Bannu just as worshippers were arriving to observe the festival. Two of the 11 wounded were reportedly in a serious condition. It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets or from where.

Today, police in Quetta said they had detained 16 former members of outlawed Sunni militant groups on concern they may have been planning attacks. In Karachi, police were ordered to search all vehicles entering the city for possible car bombs.

The capital, Islamabad, was also on alert after a suicide attack on a five-star hotel on Friday killed a security guard.

The Ashoura festival concludes Tuesday, with Shia worshippers expected to crowd into mosques and swell processions, where men flail their backs with blades attached to chains, a bloody spectacle that adds an extra charge to the atmosphere.

Fearing more violence, the government has put army troops on alert to deploy rapidly to potential flashpoints across Pakistan.