Thirteen dead after sectarian attack by Pakistan extremists

Suspected Sunni extremists opened fire on Shiite Muslims travelling through south-western Pakistan yesterday, killing 13 people and injuring seven others in the latest apparent sectarian attack to take place in the country.

Sunni militants with ideological and operational links to al Qaida and the Taliban have carried out scores of bombings and shootings against minority Shiites in recent years, but the past weeks have been particularly bloody.

The gunmen who carried out the latest attack were riding motorbikes and stopped a bus carrying mostly Shiite Muslims who were heading for work at a vegetable market on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, said police official Hamid Shakeel.

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They forced people off the bus, made them stand in a line and then opened fire. The dead included 12 Shiites and one Sunni, he said. Seven people were wounded – five Shiites and two Sunnis. Shiites blocked the main highway on the outskirts of Quetta to protest at the killings.

Pakistan is a majority Sunni Muslim state, with around 15 per cent Shiite.

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