Targeted Shiites take their protest to Pakistani capital

Battered by bombings that have killed scores of people, Pakistan's Shiite Muslims today took their protests to the Pakistani capital.

Meanwhile in the majority Shiite Kurram tribal region, thousands of residents have been staging daily sit-ins.

The daily demonstrations began last week after twin bombings killed more than 70 people in Parachinar, the center of the Kurram region along the Afghan border. Hundreds were wounded and police killed three protesters earlier in the week, officials said.

Mohammad Hussein Turi, a social worker from Parachinar, said protesters are demanding greater protection for Pakistan's minority Shiites, particularly in the tribal region. The area has been targeted several times in the recent past.
 

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni extremist group, claimed the twin bombings.