Militants bombed Sufi shrine in Pakistan's Peshawar

Islamabad, Nov 4: Militants have bombed a Sufi shrine on the outskirts of Peshawar city of northwest

, the third such attack in the region since last week.

The powerful bomb went off at the Phandu Baba shrine in Chamkani, a suburb of the provincial capital, late yesterday though there were no casualties.

The blast caused extensive damage to the shrine. Police said the bomb contained three kilograms of explosives.

The explosion was heard in most parts of Peshawar. At least three shrines in Peshawar and Nowshera have been attacked since October 28.

On Friday, a bomb disposal squad had defused an improvised explosive device planted at the Mian Umar Baba shrine in the same village.

On October 28, four persons were killed and several others injured when a bomb went off at the Kaka Sahib shrine in Nowshera town.

The attack was condemned by political parties and civil society groups. Hundreds of people blocked the Grand Trunk Road in Nowshera to protest the blast.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks though the Taliban has been blamed for bombing shrines. The militants consider the practice of visiting shrines to be "un-Islamic".

PTI