Lahore (AsiaNews / Agencies) – Bloodshed has marked the Shiite festival of Ashura in Pakistan. Eight mortar shells exploded at a religious procession in Hangu, killing six people, including two children. At least eight others were injured. Hangu in northwestern Pakistan, is known because the two largest Muslim communities, the Shia and Sunni, have been protagonists in past conflicts and tensions.
The two mortar shells were fired from the district of Orakzai, which borders Hangu. Orakzai is located in the semi-autonomous tribal area that borders Afghanistan. The bullets hit two houses as the celebrations for Ashura started on Friday, the feast in which the Shiites remember the death (which they consider martyrdom) of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala.
The attack was confirmed by police sources. "Mortar bombs were fired from Orakzai and hit two houses in Hangu. Six people were killed and eight wounded. Among those killed were two children and a woman, "said Fazal Naeem, a spokesman for security forces. In the same city 10 February 2006, 35 people died because of a attack on the Shiite Ashura procession.