KARACHI: At least 47 people were killed in Pakistan's Karachi on Wednesday when armed men entered a packed bus and opened fire.
Reports suggest 25 men and 16 women have been killed. There were around 60 passengers, including children, on the bus, mostly from the Ismaili community.
Witnesses say six men came on three motorbikes, entered the bus and fired indiscriminately for nearly 10 minutes. Most passengers were reportedly shot in the head at close range.
The bus driver is believed to have been shot first. TV footage showed a pink bus covered in bullet holes.
"There were six terrorists on three bikes. They got off the bikes, climbed the bus and opened fire using 9 mm pistols," a senior police officer told reporters.
The bus reportedly belongs to the Al-Azhar Garden Colony, which is an Ismaili housing project in Karachi. Ismailis are members of the minority Shia community.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the worst since January 30, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque in the southern Shikarpur district, killing 61.
Anti-Shiite attacks have been increasing in recent years in Karachi and also in the southwestern city of Quetta, the northwestern area of Parachinar and the far northeastern town of Gilgit.
Around 1,000 Shiites have been killed in the past two years in Pakistan.
Source:Ndtv
Reports suggest 25 men and 16 women have been killed. There were around 60 passengers, including children, on the bus, mostly from the Ismaili community.
Witnesses say six men came on three motorbikes, entered the bus and fired indiscriminately for nearly 10 minutes. Most passengers were reportedly shot in the head at close range.
The bus driver is believed to have been shot first. TV footage showed a pink bus covered in bullet holes.
"There were six terrorists on three bikes. They got off the bikes, climbed the bus and opened fire using 9 mm pistols," a senior police officer told reporters.
The bus reportedly belongs to the Al-Azhar Garden Colony, which is an Ismaili housing project in Karachi. Ismailis are members of the minority Shia community.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the worst since January 30, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque in the southern Shikarpur district, killing 61.
Anti-Shiite attacks have been increasing in recent years in Karachi and also in the southwestern city of Quetta, the northwestern area of Parachinar and the far northeastern town of Gilgit.
Around 1,000 Shiites have been killed in the past two years in Pakistan.
Source:Ndtv
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