ATTACK IN PAKISTAN - AT 7:52 A.M. ET:  From CNN, breaking:

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Militants armed with guns and grenades attacked a mosque during midday prayers in Rawalpindi on Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding 83, authorities said.

Several explosions followed by gunfire were heard inside the mosque around 1:30 p.m. local time, according to Gen. Athar Abbas, a Pakistani military spokesman. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosions or who fired the gunshots.

The militants entered the compound by climbing over a wall, said Aslam Tareen, Rawalpindi police chief. Several children and elderly worshipers are among the dead.

The mosque -- frequented by retired and serving military officials -- is in a residential area near national army headquarters. A witness told GEO TV that there were up to 300 worshipers at the mosque at the time of the attack.

COMMENT:  Just yesterday there was an attack, in Damascus, on a bus carrying Iranians. 

It's unlikely that these attacks are random.  They reflect the tensions and rivalries within the Muslim world.  There will be some kind of retaliation, and it doesn't make our job any easier.

December 4,  2009