国际英语新闻:8 killed, 20 injured as suicide blast hits Pakistan's Rawalpindi

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and 20 others injured when a suicide bomber blew up himself outside a religious center of Shia Muslims in Pakistan's garrison city of Rawalpindi on Friday, local media and officials said.

District Coordination Officer of Rawalpindi Sajid Zafar said that the suicide bomber reached on a motorbike and exploded his jacket near the main gate of the religious center after seeing the on-duty policemen.

An eyewitness said the bomber arrived 9.20 p.m. (local time) when there was dark due to power load-shedding in the area.

The bomber exploded his jacket when a volunteer security guard stopped him for frisking near the main entrance gate of the shrine.

The explosion happened when a congregation was going on in the center located in Chittian Hattian area of Rawalpindi, a major city of the country's eastern Punjab province.

Local TV channel ARY said that the injured people including two policemen were shifted to a nearby hospital where several of them were in critical condition.

Rescue teams rushed to the blast site, while the authorities put two major hospitals in the city on high alert.

Police and security forces cordoned off the area for a search operation.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

The attack was carried out soon after the jail authorities in the city hanged a terrorist at 9.00 p.m. (local time) Friday who was convicted in a case for the terrorist attack on former president Pervez Musharraf in 2003.

Local Shia group Azadari Council condemned the attack and announced a three-day mourning across the country.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, reiterating his resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country, condemned the blast and sought report from the concerned authorities.