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Militants destroy another shrine in Peshawar
Police inspect the damage to Rehman Baba's shrine - File photo. Dawn :Friday, 08 May, 2009 PESHAWAR: Weeks after the Rehman Baba shrine was destroyed in Peshawar, another mausoleum in Peshawar’s Regi area was the scene of a brutal attack. ==================== Assault on Sufism The mausoleum of 17th century Sufi poet Rehman Baba in Peshawar was the site of a vicious bomb attack. The attack is the latest sign that hard-line Muslims are attempting to strengthen their hold over others in the region who follow a traditional, mystical brand of Islam.
Devotees gather in the courtyard of the shrine after a bomb destroyed its main facade - Reuters photo. Dawn News quoted police as saying that the shrine of Sheikh Omar Baba was completely destroyed when it was attacked by militants early in the morning on Friday. Police sources said the militants came to the area before blowing up the shrine and fled the scene when police opened fire at them, only to return again to obliterate the shrine with heavy explosives. According to eye witnesses the militants shifted religious books and Qurans from the shrine to the nearby mosque before the explosion. In another development a market was blown up in Adezai Area of Peshawar, destroying some 25 shops. According to the Mattni police, targeting the market has become commonplace, and a group of long-active local militants was likely behind the incident. No casualties have been reported so far.
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