Bomb blast kills 3 children at Shiite Muslim procession in PakistanNovember 24, 2012 - 11:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Police say a bomb blast has killed three children and wounded 18 people at a Shiite Muslim procession in northwestern Pakistan, The Associated Press reported. Police official Rashid Khan said the bomb struck the procession Saturday, Nov 23, in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, which is located near South Waziristan tribal region. On Sunday, Shiites in Pakistan will celebrate Ashoura, a feast on the 10th day of the holy month of Muharram. Pakistan has suspended mobile phone service in major cities for two days to prevent such bombings, which often use cellular phones as detonators. Sunni extremists often target Shiites during Muharram, especially on Ashoura, when Shiites commemorate the seventh century death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. The Sunni-Shiite schism over the heir to the Prophet Muhammad dates back to that time. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |