Scores killed in bombing at Pakistan rally

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A blast ripped through a Shiite protest, the second such attack in three days, in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing at least 53 people and wounding 100, police and rescue officials said.

It was not immediately clear whether the bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber or a remote-controlled device.

A Pakistani Taliban commander told The Associated Press his group carried out the attack.

Militants are intensifying their attacks to pressure a government that has been struggling to cope with devastating monsoon-driven floods, described as the worst in the country's history.

The attack was aimed at a procession of Shiite Muslims who were part of nationwide marches to mark Al Quds Day, an annual protest to express solidarity with Palestinians and to condemn Israel.

It came just two days after three suicide bombers struck a Shiite procession in the eastern city of Lahore, killing 31 people and setting off violent demonstrations by infuriated survivors.

On Friday, demonstrators were passing through a commercial neighborhood in Quetta when the blast occurred.

Shiites are a minority in the country, and Sunnis hold a majority.

Extremist Sunni militant groups often make religious minorities their targets.

The Pakistani news network GEO broadcast a video that showed people falling to the ground and scrambling for cover immediately after the explosion. A few people were shown firing into the smoke-filled air. The explosion led to further protests as mourners went on rampage, clashing with the police and setting fire to vehicles and motorcycles parked nearby. Some armed Shiite men, who were accompanying the procession as private security, fired on the police, and officers fired in the air to disperse the protesters.

The wounded were taken to hospitals for treatment.

Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, had urged religious scholars Thursday to scale down their protest rallies, given the precarious security conditions in the country. Malik said militants were planning to take aim at Shiites to inflame sectarian tensions.

Religious leaders, however, refused to take this advice. Instead, they asked Malik to resign and urged the government to provide better security for the rallies and processions.

A Shiite leader, Allama Syed Qamar Haider Zaidi, accused the government of "playing the role of a silent spectator."

"If the government can't provide protection to the people, then there is no justification for it to remain in power," Zaidi said in a statement.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad condemned the recent attacks.

"The deliberate targeting of innocent Pakistanis and worshipers during the holy month of Ramadan, and while the country is recovering from the terrible monsoon flooding, makes these acts particularly vicious," it said in a statement.

The floods have complicated the fight against militants. Islamic charities, some with suspected links to militants, were quicker to deliver relief to flood victims.