On 4 July 2003, 53

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Ethnic groups * The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan * Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin * Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan * Hazar ...

Shias were killed and at least 65 others were injured when the mosque was attacked during the

Friday prayer In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...

in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. When hundreds of worshipers were offering

, three armed men entered the ''Asna Ashari Hazara Imambargah'' and started shooting, threw hand

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

s and one suicide bomber blew himself up - which left 53 dead and tens of others injured. It was second major sectarian attack on Quetta's Hazaras after the massacre of police cadets. It was the start of the series of killings of Hazaras in Quetta.

Bombing

On 4 July 2003, hundreds of worshippers were practicing

in Asna Ashri Hazara Imambargah Kalan mosque. Five men armed with

automatic weapon An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge ...

s entered the mosque and fired on worshippers for ten continuous minutes and tried to throw a grenade, but it exploded in his hand. Worshippers disarmed one of the attackers and killed a third one. The other two attackers ran away from the roof. This attack left more 65 dead and tens of others injured.

Perpetrators

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a banned terrorist group, was responsible for the attack on the mosque. After investigations, intelligence agencies found a video compact disc in which two people are shown who claimed their people attacked the mosque and they were going to meet them in paradise.

Response

* Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan at the time, cut short his 18-day trip to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and Europe. He was in a

news conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

in Paris when he heard the news. On his return to Islamabad, he said: *In response, police in Quetta arrested around 19 culprits who were found to be involved in the attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quetta mosque bombing, 2003 2003 murders in Pakistan 2003 mass shootings in Asia 2003 mosque bombing 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan Attacks on buildings and structures in 2003 2003 mosque bombing Mosque bombings in Asia Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Pakistan Attacks on Shiite mosques Mosque bombings by Islamists Islamic terrorist incidents in 2003 July 2003 crimes July 2003 events in Pakistan Lashkar-e-Jhangvi attacks Mass murder in 2003 2003 mosque bombing Mass shootings in Pakistan Massacres in religious buildings and structures Persecution of Hazaras Suicide bombings in 2003 2003 mosque bombing Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2003 Violence against Shia Muslims in Pakistan Building bombings in Pakistan

Bombing

Perpetrators

Response

See also

References