THE death toll from a suicide attack outside a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Pakistani-administered Kashmir rose to seven after two people died overnight, officials say. The attack in Muzaffarabad came as Pakistan put tens of thousands of security forces on alert, fearing sectarian clashes and militant attacks as millions of Shi'ites mark the seventh-century killing of Imam Hussein.
Officials said the bomber tried to enter the mosque, which was crowded with Shi'ites gathering to pray on the eve of Ashura in Pakistan.
"The death toll has reached seven in the suicide blast. Two people died overnight in hospital," said deputy Muzaffarabad commissioner Chaudhry Imtiaz.
Rashid Shah, a police official, confirmed the toll, saying: "There are three policemen and four civilians among the dead."
During Ashura, worshippers clad in black march through the streets, flailing themselves with chains to commemorate the killing of Imam Hussein by armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid in 680.
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