Bomb explosion confirmed, dozens killed KHANPUR, Pakistan, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A bomb exploded during a religious procession of minority Shiite Muslims in Khanpur, Pakistan, Sunday, killing and wounding dozens, authorities said. The explosion in Punjab province was first thought to have resulted from a malfunctioning electric cable, authorities said. The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan said at least 15 people died and 20 more were injured in the explosion during the procession. Pakistan's Nation newspaper and other reports said at least 18 people died in the blast and about 50 more were injured. The Nation report said the bomb, set off by remote control, exploded as the procession passed the city police station. The report said police earlier thought the explosion occurred when a flag pole carried by one of the procession members accidentally came in contact with a high tension power wire. However, police official Sohail Zafar Chattha later told reporters it was a bomb explosion. "A remote-controlled bomb was planted near an electric pole and it was set off as the procession approached," he was quoted as saying. APP, quoting a civil defense official, also said it was a bomb explosion. At least 20 of those wounded suffered serious injuries, area hospitals reported. Some of the procession participants attacked local shops and police vehicles in retaliation, and police had to summon paramilitary forces, the Nation said. Although no group had yet claimed responsibility for the blast, there have been a number of such sectarian violence in Pakistan, which is predominantly a Sunni Muslim majority country. On Sept. 20, gunmen killed 26 Shiite pilgrims riding in a bus south of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani condemned the latest attack and the government ordered an investigation, APP reported.