Sunnis arrested over Pakistan killings

The army has taken control of the city to stop revenge killings

At least 15 people have been arrested in the Pakistani city of Quetta in connection with the attack on a Shia mosque which left 53 people dead.

The deputy head of police in the province of Baluchistan said members of outlawed Sunni organisations had been arrested in several raids in the city overnight.

He said they were also looking into the possibility that foreigners were involved in the attack on Friday.

There are unconfirmed reports that seven Afghan nationals have been arrested in the border town of Chaman.

The BBC's Paul Anderson, in Quetta, said radical Sunni Muslims from Afghanistan, perhaps the Taleban, will be the prime suspects for the attack.

Local language

According to Pakistani state radio, prime minister Zafarullah Jamali said the facts on the ground indicated a foreign conspiracy.

He said special teams have been set up to investigate the theory, but local Shia leaders suggested they were wasting their time.

They say they are sure the attackers were Pakistani Sunni extremists from banned militant organisations.

Attack in pictures

Is violence spreading?

They say the attackers spoke in the local Baluchi language when giving orders to each other during the course of the mosque attack.

The attack took place as 2,000 people were taking part in Friday prayers.

Police say three gunmen burst into the mosque firing automatic weapons and throwing hand grenades.

One of the gunmen blew himself up, another was killed by a guard. One man was arrested but it was not clear whether he was connected to the gunmen.

Police said the death toll could have been much worse as they had found two bombs concealed in canisters near the main wall of the mosque.

After the attack hundreds of Shias went on a rampage, prompting police to impose a curfew that remains in force.

The army has taken over law and order to prevent revenge killings.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf described the attackers as illiterate and wild extremists with no love for Islam.