A teenaged suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded Shia Muslim prayer hall in the Pakistani city of Peshawar today, killing at least nine people and wounding 25, a government official said.
Pakistan's minority Shias are observing a mourning period for the anniversary of the death of Iman Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, when sectarian violence often flares.
"It could be a conspiracy to spread religious hatred, to pit Muslim against Muslim," said Ghulam Ali, a district government chief in the northwestern city.
He said authorities had recovered 10 bodies, some badly mutilated, one of which was apparently that of the bomber, who an Interior Ministry spokesman said was about 16 years old.
One witness said he heard gunshots just before the blast.
"People are crying and shouting. It's chaos," said Ali Haider, who was outside the hall when the attack took place.
The government had stepped up security during the commemoration, which reaches a climax this weekend with processions by Shias across the country.