Pakistan army says dozens of militants killed

Sunni extremists escape from prison
Elsewhere, two Sunni extremists awaiting execution for a bloody attack on rival Shiites in 2004 escaped from a heavily guarded prison in the southwestern city of Quota. The prison break came a day after a suspected Sunni suicide bomber attacked Shiites assembled for prayers during the holy month of Mihama.

The escape of  Unman and  Lehman — sentenced to hang after a 2004 attack on a procession that killed 42 Shiites — adds to the growing sense of insecurity in the country.

“Their escape in a sensitive month is very dangerous,” Quota's police chief  Nazi said.

On Thursday, the suspected Sunni extremist blew himself up inside a Shiite mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar. The strike killed a 11 and wounded 25 people ahead of this weekend’s Ashore festival.

Ashore is the culmination of Shiite rites during the holy month of Mihama when they mourn the seventh century death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein — an event that led to the split in Islam between the Shiite and Sunni sects.

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