KARACHI, PAKISTAN — A suicide bomber blew up a Shiite Muslim procession yesterday in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital, killing at least 22, the latest in a series of attacks across the country that has killed hundreds.
The bomb exploded on a main road during a procession for Ashura, the Shiite calendar’s biggest holy day, despite the presence of thousands of security forces who had been on high alert.
The assault on the religious march, the third in Pakistan’s biggest city in as many days, underscored the security challenges facing the country.
The nuclear-armed US ally is struggling against al Qaeda-linked militants and is under mounting pressure from Washington to help stabilize neighboring Afghanistan, where a Taliban insurgency continues to rage.
Embattled Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed to end the bloodshed. But militants have struck back with bombings in several cities since the army launched a major offensive in their stronghold of South Waziristan in mid-October.