Five people were killed and eighty injured in a suicide bombing that took place outside a Shiite religious gathering in the capital of Kashmir, controlled by Pakistan. The bomber detonated the explosives during a security check at a checkpoint. Of the five killed, two have been identified as part of the police force and most of the 80 injured people are believed to be Shiites, who had gathered at the religious events in Muzaffarabad.

After the blast, the authorities had to call in army units to restore order in the area. There have been known attacks against the Shiites, especially during the holy month of Muharram perpetrated by the rival sect, the Sunnis. In a related incident in another tribal area, a government officer along with his wife and five children were killed when three bombs exploded in his house. The authorities has attributed this audacious attack to the Pakistani military offensive currently underway in the militant stronghold of South Waziristan near the Afghanistan border.

As per the police reports, the official assassinated in the bomb attack was Sarbraz Saddiqi who was working in the Kurram province, where the military has recently stepped up its efforts to uproot the Taliban and other terrorist factions. The year 2009 has been brutal for Pakistan, as the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other militant factions have stepped up their revenge attacks against Pakistan for its active involvement in the War on Terror and the current military operations in the FATA region.

Via Associated Press