| 2003 Quetta mosque bombing | |
|---|---|
 Map of Quetta | |
| Location | Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan |
| Date | 4 July 2003 ( Pakistan Standard Time) |
Attack type | Suicide bombing, mass shooting, grenade attack |
| Weapons | Hand grenades, explosive belt, guns |
| Deaths | 53 |
| Injured | at least 65 |
| Perpetrators | Lashkar-e-Jhangvi |
| Part of a series on |
| Hazaras |
|---|
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On 4 July 2003, 53 Hazara Shias were killed and at least 65 others were injured when a mosque was attacked during the Friday prayer in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. [1] [2] When hundreds of worshipers were offering Friday prayer, three armed men entered the Asna Ashari Hazara Imambargah and started shooting and throwing hand grenades and one suicide bomber blew himself up - which left 53 dead and scores injured. [1] [2] It was the latest of several major sectarian attack in the series of killings of Hazaras in Quetta, coming less than a month after the massacre of Hazara police cadets on June 8, 2003. [3]
Bombing
On 4 July 2003, hundreds of worshippers were practicing Friday prayer in Asna Ashri Hazara Imambargah Kalan mosque. Five men armed with automatic weapons [4] 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. [5]
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. [6]
Response
-
Pervez Musharraf,
President of Pakistan at the time, cut short his 18-day trip to
America and
Europe. He was in a
news conference in
Paris when he heard the news.
[7]
[8] On his return to
Islamabad, he said:
[7]
Whether they are religious extremists or sectarian extremists they are ignorant and wild.
- In response, police in Quetta arrested around 19 culprits who were found to be involved in the attack. [1]
See also
- Persecution of Hazara people
- Quetta attacks
- 2004 Quetta Ashura massacre
- 2011 Mastung bus shooting
- September 2010 Quetta bombing
- 2011 Hazara Town shooting
- 2019 Ghotki riots
- List of massacres in Pakistan
References
- ^ a b c "19 arrested after attack on mosque". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2003.
- ^ a b AFP, Quetta (5 July 2003). "The Daily Star Web Edition Vol. 4 Num 39". Thedailystar.net. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Police massacre in Pakistan". BBC News. 8 June 2003. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- ^ "Sectarian Terror In Quetta". Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- ^ McGirk, Tim (7 July 2003). "A Prayer Before Dying". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- ^ "Daily Times". Daily Times. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Sectarian Terror in Quetta".
- ^ "Pakistan: Tension over sectarian bombing - TIME". 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- 2003 murders in Pakistan
- 2003 mass shootings in Asia
- 2000s in Quetta
- 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan
- Building bombings in Quetta
- Mosque bombings in Pakistan
- Attacks on Shiite mosques in Pakistan
- 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
- Mass murder in Quetta
- Mass shootings in Pakistan
- Mosque shootings
- Persecution of Hazaras
- Suicide bombings in 2003
- Suicide bombings in Quetta
- Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2003
- Violence against Shia Muslims in Pakistan
- 2003 building bombings