Tuesday, May 31 2005 09:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: A senior leader of Pakistan's hardline Jamat-e-Islami (JI) was gunned down while a policeman and three suicide bombers were killed in a terror attack on a Shia mosque in Karachi last evening (May 30, 2005).

Aslam Mujahid, a top leader of the JI was killed as he was returning home after attending a funeral of a party colleague, a police official in Karachi said.

Hours later, three suicide bombers reportedly tried to gate-crash into a Shia mosque in Gulistan Bahar in Central Karachi. A police constable who was guarding the place opened the fire on the three, local police official Asif Ijaz told private Geo TV.

Two suicide bombers were killed in the gunfire by the policeman while the third managed to escape into Dargah where he blew himself up, killing the policeman and injuring seven others, he said.

Later, police live ammunition from one of the injured who was admitted to the hospital. They suspect he was also part of the group, which the three suicide bombers belonged.

The attack took place during the evening prayer time.

City Police officials termed it as a terrorist attack and suspected the involvement of banned sectarian extremist groups in it.

The suicide attack followed a similar attack on a Sufi shrine near Islamabad on Friday (May 27, 2005) in which 20 people were killed and over 60 others injured.