Terroranschläge in Lahore am 28. Mai 2010

Vorlage:Pp-move Vorlage:Current event Vorlage:Infobox terrorist attack Vorlage:Campaignbox Pakistan attacks The May 2010 Lahore attacks occurred on 28 May 2010 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, during Friday prayers. Two mosques, Darul Zikr and Baitun Noor, of the minority Ahmadiyya Muslim Community came under attack in a hostage situation after firing and grenades.

Background

The Ahmadiyya Muslims have previously been targeted by Sunni groups, while they have also suffered discrimination in Pakistan in the past. The Ahmadiyya movement was started in 1889 and follows the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who they believe was sent by God as a prophet "to end religious wars, condemn bloodshed and reinstitute morality, justice and peace." It is estimated there are between 3 - 4 million Ahmadis in Pakistan.

Pakistan does not recognize the Ahmadis as Muslim as they do not recognize the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad a core tenet of Islam. They were declared non muslim in Pakistan in 1973 and were legally banned from identifying themselves as Muslim in 1984 by the government of Pakistan in spite of Ahmadis calling themselves muslim and following all rituals of Islam.

Human Rights group in Pakistan said that they had warned of possible attacks on the minority sect and suggested the government provide fool-proof security arrangements, upon which the government did not act. Lahore has been the site of various interval attacks by militants, including on visiting Sri Lankan cricketers and the police academy, amongst others.

Attack

The perpetrators lobbed grenades and started firing as they attacked two mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect in different residential neighborhoods. Security officers were then involved in a gun battle with fighters ouside one of the mosques in Garhi Shahu district. The near simultaneous attacks were at Darul Al Zikr, Garhi Shahu and Bait Al Noor Lahore Model Town, 15 km apart.

The attackers at Garhi Shahu, including three suicide bombers, first killed young unarmed boys and a security guard outside the mosque before storming into the prayer halls firing guns, throwing grenades and taking hostages. The assault at Model Town involved four attackers opening fire on worshippers before exploding hand grenades. Sajjad Bhutta, the deputy commissioner of Lahore, said the death toll at Garhi Shahu was higher because three attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives when police tried to enter the building. The attackers killed anyone among the hostages who moved, including a brutal murder of a 13 year old boy who was giving water to his father.

One attacker was reportedly killed and two were arrested while seven were still holed up in one of the mosques. The Model Town mosque was declared safe, though up to 3000 people were reported to be holed up in the mosque during the firing. This was the deadliest attack in Lahore of its kind, and one of the most severe in terms of lives lost in the history of persecutions against Ahmadis.

Responsibility

The Punjabi Taliban, a subset wing of the Pakistani Taliban reportedly laid claim to the attacks. It is formed mainly by groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

See also

• Sectarian violence in Pakistan

External links

• In pictures: Lahore attacks (BBC)
• Who are the Ahmadi (BBC)
• Alislam.org – Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Responds to Terrorists' Attacks in Lahore (Official Statement) – Terrorist attacks on Ahmadi Mosques in Pakistan