Death sentences for Shia killings

Shias attend the funeral of the murdered worshippers in 2002

A court in Pakistan has sentenced four Sunni Muslims to death for killing 14 Shias at a mosque in 2002.

The Shia worshippers died when gunmen opened fire during evening prayers in the mosque in the city of Rawalpindi in February 2002.

The convicted men are members of the banned Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Five defendants were acquitted.

Pakistan has a long history of sectarian violence between majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslims.

Earliest days

Hameedullah Mujahid, Fazal Hamid, Hafiz Naseer Akhtar and Tahir Mahmood were sentenced by an anti-terrorism court after a year-long trial.

PAKISTAN'S SECTARIAN DIVIDE Shias revere Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed Pakistan is 20% Shia, 70% Sunni Violence between Sunni and Shia factions began in early 1980s More than 150 people have died in the past year alone About 4,000 people have been killed in total Most violence takes place in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab Pakistan's schisms

Rawalpindi police chief Murrawat Ali Shah told the AFP news agency that the authorities would appeal against the acquittals.

It was not immediately known whether the convicted men would also appeal.

On Thursday, a court in Peshawar sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the murder of a Shia leader in 2002.

There have been a number of deadly sectarian attacks this year.

In October, 40 people at a Sunni meeting in Multan were killed by a car bomb.

Six days earlier, 30 people and a suicide bomber were killed at a Shia mosque in Sialkot.

Since 1980, more than 4,000 people have been killed in Shia-Sunni violence.

Differences between the majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslims date back to the very earliest days of Islam.

They are directly linked to the issue of succession following the death of Prophet Mohammed.

Shias believe his son-in-law, Ali, should have been given the reins of administration and regard him as the first imam or spiritual leader.

Sunnis believe the appointment of one of the Prophet's companions, Abu Bakr, as first Caliph was correct.