KARACHI, Pakistan, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Cellular service was suspended in several Pakistani cities Thursday due to security concerns during the Ashura holidays, government officials said.
Service was suspended in Karachi, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Ghotki, Khairpur, Kotli, Jacobabad, Islamabad, as well as other cities, Dawn News reported.
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Lahore also closed cellphone networks in areas where processions are taking place for Ashura, officials said.
Provincial officials said they are hoping to prevent terrorist bombings, which are often detonated by cellphone.
Similar precautions have been implemented in the past, Dawn News said.
Three-thousand rangers and police officers also were deployed in Islamabad to guard processions.
