At least 25 people,including two children,were killed and over 50 injured when a suspected suicide bomber struck a religious gathering in Dera Ghazi Khan town in Pakistans Punjab province on Thursday. The blast occurred shortly before 7 pm when about 100 people had joined a religious procession outside an imambargah or the Shiite prayer hall. Officials said about a dozen people were killed on the spot while others died in hospital. Local health officials said two children were among the dead and two of the injured were in serious condition. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Police officials said initial investigations had indicated that the blast was caused by a suspected suicide bomber as there was no crater at the site of the attack. They said the militants targetted the religious procession near the prayer hall of Pakistans minority Shia community to foment unrest. The imambargah is located in a thickly populated area in the centre of Dera Ghazi Khan. Witnesses said they saw dead bodies and injured people lying on the road after the blast. A prominent Shiite body said it had informed local police that there was a possibility of a terrorist attack on the congregation. It complained the police had taken no security measures despite the warning. Authorities have tightened security for imambargahs and processions across Punjab province after the attack. Meanwhile,seven Pakistani soldiers were wounded on Thursday when a roadside bomb exploded near a military convoy in a remote tribal town near the Afghan border,local officials said.
