ISLAMABAD — A roadside bomb killed at least seven people, including three children, and wounded 30 others Saturday at a Shiite Muslim procession in northwestern Pakistan, police said, as minority Shiites prepared to observe the holy day of Ashoura.
The bomb went off as about 100 Shiites were passing through the city of Dera Ismail Khan on their way to join a larger crowd marking the day, said police official Rashid Khan, who reported the casualty toll.
No one claimed responsibility, but the suspicion fell on Pakistani Taliban, who often carry out such attacks.
Today, Shiites in Pakistan will celebrate Ashoura, which commemorates the seventh century death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. The Sunni-Shiite schism over Muhammad’s rightful heir dates back to that time.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the bombing, which took place near the South Waziristan tribal region.
Sunni extremists frequently attack Shiites, whom they consider heretics, and the Ashoura ceremonies are prime targets as crowds of Shiites march in processions mourning Hussein.
On Wednesday night, a Taliban suicide bomber struck a Shiite Muslim procession in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near Islamabad, killing 17 people. Initially police said 23 people were killed in the attack, but later authorities put the death toll at 17. They provided no explanation for the discrepancy.
Also Wednesday, the Taliban set off two bombs within minutes outside a Shiite mosque in the southern city of Karachi, killing one person and wounding 15 others. Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attacks in Rawalpindi and Karachi.
Qamar Abbas Zaidi, the spokesman for the main Shiite political party, Tehrik-e-Nifaze-Fiqh Jafariya, vowed to go ahead with Ashoura processions across the country despite threats of attacks.
Pakistani authorities have deployed thousands of additional police across the country to beef up security for such processions, and authorities have suspended mobile-phone service in all the major cities for two days to prevent such bombings. Officials say Taliban frequently use cellular phones as remote detonators for bomb attacks.
In other developments, Sunni and Shiite students clashed Saturday at Kabul University, and Afghan authorities said one person was killed and six were injured.
Gen. Mohammad Zahir, director of the criminal investigation division, said police were trying to assess why the fight broke out.
Shiite and Sunni students started brawling, and by evening, several hundred people joined the melee, fighting and throwing stones, according to reports. Eyewitnesses said the clash was related to Ashoura.
Afghan leaders went to the site to try to calm the crowd. Abdul Azim Nurbakhsh, a spokesman for the Ministry of Higher Education, said late Saturday that classes at the university had been canceled for the next 10 days. University buildings reportedly had been damaged.
Other gatherings marking Ashoura in the Afghan capital were peaceful.
Information for this article was contributed by Rahim Raiez and Massieh Neshat of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 10 on 11/25/2012