Security tightened in Pakistani Kashmir after suicide bomb attack

A suicide bomber has killed at least five people in Muzzafarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. One day after Sunday's blast, security has been tightened throughout the region.

One day after the bomb attack, Muzzafarabad's morning seems quiet. Although the blast site has been swept, some bloodstains and broken glass remains as a grim reminder of what happened here.

The explosion went off at the end of a procession in commemoration of Ashura, the Shi'ite calendar's holiest day. At least five people were killed, and 30 injured.

Asif Naqui, an eyewitness, said, "A procession was entering here after Maghrib prayers when a suicide bomber attempted to enter. Our volunteers tried to stop him by firing shots, but he exploded himself."

Security had been heightened across the country for Ashura, a flash point for deadly attacks by Sunni militants in recent years.

Shiite women walk past a policewoman standing guard at the  entrance to the women's section of a mosque in Islamabad during  Ashura. A suicide attack at a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistani- administered Kashmir killed five people and wounded dozens more,  marking a bloody start to Ashura commemorations. (AFP/Behrouz Mehri)