Pakistan: 13 die after drinking cough syrup

ZAHEER BABAR Associated Press Published:

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) -- Thirteen people have died in a main Pakistani city after drinking cough syrup suspected of being toxic, police said Monday.





The bomb contained about 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosives and was detonated by a mobile phone, said Awan.



Awan, the police officer, said he suspected the bomb in Karachi was meant to target Shiites over the weekend, but militants were not able to detonate it because of the mobile phone ban.

Shiites are currently observing the holy month of Muharram. Pakistani Shiites on Sunday marked Ashoura, the most important day of the month.

Pakistan has a long history of Sunni Muslim extremists targeting Shiites, who they consider heretics.

Also Monday, police in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, found and defused a bomb planted underneath the car of one of Pakistan's most prominent TV anchors, Hamid Mir of Geo Television.

The bomb was made up of half a kilogram (1 pound) of explosives stuffed in a tin can, said Islamabad police chief Bani Amin. It was placed in a bag and attached to the bottom of Mir's car, said Amin.

One of Mir's neighbors noticed the bomb underneath the car after the TV anchor returned from a local market, and the police were notified, said Rana Jawad, a senior official at Geo TV.


Associated Press writers Adil Jawad in Karachi, Pakistan, and Zarar Khan in Islamabad contributed to this report.