Dozens killed in Pakistan blasts

It is not yet clear who carried out the attack

At least 38 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in two bomb blasts in the Pakistani city of Multan.

Hundreds of people had gathered to mark the anniversary of the killing of militant Sunni leader Azim Tariq outside Islamabad last year.

The attack is thought to have occurred at about 4.40am (2340 GMT Wednesday).

It is not clear who carried out the attack, though it is suspected that radicals of the minority Shia community are responsible.

It was dark and people were screaming for help. - it was utter chaos Witness

"It seems to be an act of sectarian terrorism, but we are still investigating," Multan's deputy police chief Arshad Hameed told the Associated Press.

The attack comes almost a week after a suicide attacker detonated a bomb inside a crowded Shia mosque in the eastern city of Sialkot, killing 31 people and injuring more than 50.

It was the latest in a series of attacks against the Shia community in recent months in which more than 100 people have died.

Hospital overwhelmed

The attack occurred when the night-long public meeting called to galvanise support for the outlawed Sunni group Millat-e-Islami, was about to end.

As a large number of people started to walk towards the car park, one of the vehicles exploded.

The Associated Press reported that the first blast came from a car bomb, and another minutes later from a device on a motorcycle.

Several people died and dozens were injured on the spot, but more were injured in a resulting stampede.

"The explosion numbed our ears, we saw people falling on each other, everybody was crying, everybody was running," eyewitness Jamil Usmani said.

Witnesses reported people being torn to pieces and screaming for help.

Doctors at the city's main hospital said there were more injured in the casualty ward than they could handle.

Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid condemned the attack.

"It is an act of brutal terrorism aimed at creating instability in the country," he told AFP.

Millat-e-Islami, formerly known as Sipah-e-Sahaba, was banned by the government last year along with a number of other Sunni and Shia groups because of their alleged involvement in sectarian violence.

Sunni Muslims make up about 80% of Pakistan's 150 million people. Most of the rest are Shiites.