Kathmandu - At least six people were injured when a powerful
explosion ripped through a mosque in south-eastern Nepal, media
reports said Sunday.
The blast targeted the mosque at Hattimuda village in Morang
district, about 400 kilometres south-east of the capital, during
evening prayers on Saturday night, the Kathmandu Post newspaper
reported.
The newspaper said unidentified assailants threw the bomb into the
mosque and fled.
The mosque was packed with people and most of the injured
sustained shrapnel injuries.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack.
There are several armed groups operating in the area with a range
of demands including reinstatement of Hinduism as the country's
official region.
Muslim groups said the attack was an attempt to disturb communal
and religious harmony in Nepal.
'This a deliberate attempt to disturb religious harmony,' the
newspaper quoted Nazrul Hassan, the president of Muslim Association
of Nepal as saying. 'The government must act tough against elements
behind such acts.'
The association also condemned the attack and called on Muslims to
exercise restraint.
In April, similar attack on mosque in the same area killed at
least two people and injured two others.
The Muslim minority make up less than 5 per cent of Nepal's 28
million population, and live predominantly in pockets of southern
Nepal bordering India.
Nepal has not seen major religious strife between Muslims and the
majority Hindus in the past.
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