QUETTA, Pakistan - Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus stand in
southwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing seven Shiite pilgrims waiting
to travel to neighbouring Iran, police said.
The attack was the
latest violence in the province of Baluchistan, which is beset by
deadly sectarian conflict, a separatist insurgency and Taliban militant
activity.
The seven men were killed as they waited for a coach in
the Saryab neighbourhood of Quetta, capital of the oil- and gas-rich
province that borders Iran and Afghanistan.
"The attackers came
on motorcycle and opened fire on the pilgrims. All seven Shiite
pilgrims were killed on the spot," Farid Breach, a senior police
officer, told AFP. "It was a sectarian attack. The Shiites were the
target."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident, which was confirmed by local intelligence officials.
Most Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims, but the country has a significant Shiite minority.
Thousands of people have died in sectarian attacks in Pakistan since the late 1980s.
In
a separate incident, one person was killed and 24 others, including 12
policemen, were wounded when a bomb planted in a football stadium went
off in Mastung district, about 45 kilometres (30 miles) south of
Quetta, police said.
"It was a remote-controlled bomb. One person
was killed and 24 others were wounded," senior police officer Abdul
Rauf Rind told AFP.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed since
Baluch rebels rose up in 2004 against the federal Pakistani government,
demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the
region's oil, gas and mineral resources. AFP
