Thousands of Shiite Muslims, thumping their chests and crying, mourned Thursday at funeral prayers for victims of a triple bombing that heaped more tragedy on Pakistan, which is already struggling to cope with devastating floods.
The blasts that targeted a Shiite ceremony late Wednesday in this eastern city were the first major attacks since flood waters tore through the country over the past month, destroying or damaging more than one million homes and prompting a major international relief effort that continues to struggle with the scale of the destruction.
The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks in a phone call to an Associated Press reporter.
A member of the group, who did not give his name but has previously spoken on behalf of the militants, said it was in revenge for the alleged killings by Shiites of members of a Sunni extremist ally of the group, Sipah-e-Sahaba.
The Obama administration on Wednesday added the Pakistani Taliban to its international terrorism blacklist and charged its leader with planning a suicide bombing in Afghanistan last year that killed seven CIA employees. The group has also been blamed for the failed car bombing in New York's Times Square.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit welcomed the US action against the group, saying it was also banned in Pakistan.
At least 35 people were killed and 250 wounded in the attacks on a street procession marking the death anniversary of caliph Ali, one of Shiite Islam's most respected holy men. Two of the blasts were apparently suicide bombs.
Afterward, crowds torched a police station and vehicles. Authorities deployed paramilitary forces to restore order.
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