Militants attack Shia Muslims in southwest Pakistan
Source: DNA Militants today stormed a bus carrying Shia Muslims in Balochistan
province of southwest Pakistan, killing 13 men and injuring seven
others in the latest of a string of attacks targeting the minority
community.
Three gunmen travelling in a pick-up truck stopped the bus with about 30 passengers in Akhtarabad area on the outskirts of provincial capital Quetta, witnesses told the media.
Two gunmen entered the bus and fired indiscriminately, they said. Thirteen men, most of them Shia Hazaras, were killed and seven others injured, police said.
The injured were taken to the Bolan Medical Complex and those with critical wounds were shifted to Quetta’s military hospital. Officials described the condition of three of the injured as serious.
The attackers fled from the area before it was cordoned off by police and paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel.
City police chief Ahsan Mehboob removed a police officer from his post for failing to provide security to the bus in the wake of several attacks on vehicles carrying Shia Hazaras in Quetta and nearby areas.
A large number of Shia Hazaras reached the Bolan Medical Complex and staged a protest against the attack. The bus that was attacked was set on fire by angry protesters.
Some protesters shouted slogans against the police and the government for their failure to prevent attacks on Shias.
Some protesters accused the authorities of being in league with terrorists and demanded targeted operation and a crackdown on those who were attacking members of the Hazara community.
Three gunmen travelling in a pick-up truck stopped the bus with about 30 passengers in Akhtarabad area on the outskirts of provincial capital Quetta, witnesses told the media.
Two gunmen entered the bus and fired indiscriminately, they said. Thirteen men, most of them Shia Hazaras, were killed and seven others injured, police said.
The injured were taken to the Bolan Medical Complex and those with critical wounds were shifted to Quetta’s military hospital. Officials described the condition of three of the injured as serious.
The attackers fled from the area before it was cordoned off by police and paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel.
City police chief Ahsan Mehboob removed a police officer from his post for failing to provide security to the bus in the wake of several attacks on vehicles carrying Shia Hazaras in Quetta and nearby areas.
A large number of Shia Hazaras reached the Bolan Medical Complex and staged a protest against the attack. The bus that was attacked was set on fire by angry protesters.
Some protesters shouted slogans against the police and the government for their failure to prevent attacks on Shias.
Some protesters accused the authorities of being in league with terrorists and demanded targeted operation and a crackdown on those who were attacking members of the Hazara community.
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