Two relatives sit in a Mosque where at least 16 Shiite Muslims were killed by unknown gunmen. (K.M. Chaudhry/AP Photo)

January 4, 1999 MULTAN, Pakistan -- Wounded Shiite Muslim worshippers crawled to loudspeakers to plead for help after gunmen sprayed bullets into a mosque as they prayed Monday, leaving at least 14 people dead.

Police said the shooting began after four men arrived at the mosque in a car. Initial reports said two of them randomly fired at the congregation of Shiites in Karam Dad Qureshi, a village about 35 kilometers (20 miles) east of Multan in Punjab province.

The official news agency APP put the death toll at 16, with 25 wounded, but police said they had confirmation of 14 deaths.

No one claimed responsibility for the killings. However, police said they suspected rival majority Sunni Muslim militants carried out the attack.

One injured worshipper, Tareen Bux, said the attack came from behind.

"We all were praying when bullets started hitting us from the back," he said at a hospital. "I was hit by bullets and then I fell unconscious. . . I don't what happened afterward."

Witnesses said neighbors rushed to the mosque, grabbing small children and old men, cradling the dead and comforting the wounded.

Dozens of people were killed in similar sectarian attacks in the province last year (Mominpura Massacre ). Sunni groups accuse predominantly Shiite Iran of financing Pakistani Shiite militants, while Shiites accuse Sunni Saudi Arabia of aiding Sunni militants.

Associated Press