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ISLAMABAD (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up on Friday evening outside a mosque in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, next to the capital of Islamabad, killing five people, officials said.
The blast comes as the nation is still reeling from a horrific Taliban assault last month on a school in Peshawar, in northwestern Pakistan, that killed 150 people, and underscores the threat that militants still pose to the country even after repeated military operations in Pakistan's rugged tribal areas.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the fact that the targeted mosque is affiliated with Shiite Muslims cast suspicion on Sunni extremists. Shiites have often been targeted by Sunni extremists who do not view the sect as true Muslims.
Police officer Raja Abdul Rasheed said four of the dead were civilians and one was a police officer. About 200 people were inside the mosque at the time of the explosion, said another police officer, Mohammed Asif.
The explosion also wounded 16 people, said Rasheed. He said authorities believe the bomber tried to go into the mosque. When he was stopped at the entrance, he blew himself up outside.
The blast happened in a narrow, congested area of Rawalpindi, which police said hampered rescue efforts.
Pakistan has been on edge ever since the Dec. 16 attack on the Peshawar school. Though Pakistan has suffered repeated suicide bombings and shootings, that attack shook the country to the core, in large part because almost all the dead were children.
In response, the military has stepped up operations against militants in the tribal areas, and the government has reinstated the death penalty and instituted military courts to try people suspected of terrorism.
But militants have vowed to continue their assaults.
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