Car bomb at Shia mosque in Pakistan kills 37

KARACHI, Pakistan -- A car bomb exploded outside a mosque yesterday, killing 37 people and wounding another 141 in a Shia Muslim-dominated neighborhood in Karachi, the third mass-casualty attack on the minority sect in the country this year.

No one had taken responsibility for the bombing, but the Shia have been increasingly targeted by Sunni militant groups in Karachi, Pakistan's economic hub and the site of years of political, sectarian and ethnic violence, as well as other parts of the country.

The bomb exploded outside the mosque as people were leaving evening prayers in Pakistan's largest city.

A police official said that an estimated 220 pounds of explosives was planted in a car. A chemical used in the blast caught fire and spread the destruction, igniting several buildings nearby. -- AP