Wounded in hiite shrine om ing

DHAKA (AFP) – At least one person was killed and nearly 80 wounded Saturday in a bomb attack on the main Shiite shrine in the Bangladeshi capital as thousands gathered for the annual Ashura procession, police said.

Police said it was believed to be first time Bangladesh’s tiny Shiite Muslim community has been targeted and came just weeks after an Italian aid worker and a Japanese farmer were shot dead in attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.

Officers said a 14-year-old boy died on the spot after three small bombs were thrown at the complex of the Hossaini Dalan, the main Shiite site in the old Mughal quarter of Dhaka, at about 2:00 am Saturday (2000 GMT Friday).

“There were some 20,000 people in and outside the building at that time. They were preparing to hold the annual Muharram mourning procession when the three (bombs) were exploded,’’ deputy commissioner of Dhaka Police Mofiz Uddin Ahmed told AFP.

The attacks come as Shiites around the world mark the holy month of Moharram, with Pakistan’s Shiites also suffering sectarian violence this week after two suicide blasts killed at least 27 people.

In Bangladesh, television showed live footage of the chaos in the aftermath of the blasts with people, many holding flags, fleeing and ambulances taking the injured to hospital.

Local police chief Azizul Haq said at least one person was killed and around 80 injured in the attack, which took place on the premises of the 17th century religious site.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, police said.