Peshawar, Friday 21 November 2008: An explosion ripped through a funeral procession Friday in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least five people and wounding at least 15 others, police official said.

”A funeral procession of a Shiite victim was on its way to the graveyard when a powerful explosion hit it, resulting in the death of five people and the injury of 15 others,” police official said.

Shiites account for about 20% of Pakistan’s 160 million-strong, Sunni-dominated populations.

The suicide blast occurred during funeral prayers in Islamia colony near Bannu road of Dera Ismail Khan city of North West Frontier Province, official said.

As a result, seven persons were killed and around 20 others were injured. The injured were shifted to the District Hospital in Dera Ismail Khan for treatment.