http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&e=3&u=/ap/20040302/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_religious_violenceQUETTA, Pakistan - A bombing and shooting attack on Shiite Muslim worshippers during a religious procession in southwestern Pakistan killed at least 29 people Tuesday and wounded more than 150, authorities said. The city's mayor declared an immediate curfew and deployed security forces on the streets.
An explosion and gunfire rang out in a congested area of Quetta, the main city in southwest Baluchistan province, as hundreds of Shiite Muslims marking the Muharram holiday passed by, officials said. Authorities were trying to determine the source of the explosion and the affiliations of the shooters.
Soon after, a Sunni Muslim mosque, a television network office and several shops were set afire as Shiites rioted in parts of the city, and a shootout occurred near the scene of the initial attack, police said.
Government officials said the carnage was an effort by extremist groups to destabilize the country. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has been a staunch ally of the U.S. war on terrorism, earning the ire of Islamic fundamentalists. He narrowly escaped two assassination attempts in December.
The violence occurred hours after a series of coordinated blasts in Iraq (news - web sites) struck major Shiite Muslim shrines in Karbala and Baghdad, killing at least 125 religious pilgrims.
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