Ahlul Bayt News Agency - Leaders of Bangladesh’s Shia community have condemned the bombing at a procession in Old Dhaka, dubbing the attackers ‘enemies of Islam and the country’.
The early Friday bomb explosions outside Huseni Dalan left one dead and over 100 injured. In a statement on Saturday, Shia leaders said they were not scared by such attacks. Police chief Shahidul Hoque said the explosions were linked to the killing of a police sub-inspector at Dhaka’s Gabtoli on Thursday night.
Shia community takes out processions to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUT), killed in the seventh century at Karbala, on the banks of Forat River.
Bangladeshi Shia leaders say Old Dhaka’s ‘Tajia procession’ was a 400-year-old tradition.
Attacks on Shias are common in the Middle East and Pakistan but the community was never targeted in Bangladesh.
At least 32 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a Shia procession in Pakistan’s Sindh province on Friday. The government said the Old Dhaka explosions were aimed at creating instability, while the ruling Awami League blamed the BNP and its allies for the blasts.
The BNP, however, demanded a “proper and impartial” investigation into the incident.
Shia leaders dubbed the attack a “repeat of the Karbala” and “a huge blow on the country’s religious communities”.
“The descendants of Yazid (who planned the killing of Imam Hussain) are behind the attack,” said 50-year-old Abdul Jabbar, who participated in the procession.
EU condemns bomb attacks on Shia community
The Head of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh has “firmly” condemned the bomb attack on the Shia community gathering in Old Dhaka on the occasion of Ashura.
Ambassador Pierre Mayaudon said in a statement on Sunday he was “confident that Bangladesh will respond with the highest sense of unity” to this “unprecedented act of violence”.
He conveyed his condolences to the family of the deceased and expressed his sympathy to all victims, and urged authorities to ensure thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.
Three locally-made bombs exploded around 2am on Saturday when Shias were preparing for their trademark Muharram procession.
The incident took place despite tight security measures for Ashura when Shia Muslims mourn the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
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