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Gunmen kill three lawyers in Karachi

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Published: Jan. 26, 2012 at 2:00 AM

KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Four motorcycle-riding gunmen shot and killed three lawyers in Karachi, the scene of sectarian violence in recent months, Pakistani police said.

The victims -- a senior lawyer, his son and a nephew -- were returning home from court Tuesday when the gunmen sprayed their care with bullets, Dawn newspaper said, quoting local authorities.

A police official, Ali Asif, said the gunmen stopped the victims' vehicle, got off their motorcycles and began shooting. The gunmen later fled.

A fourth person in the car was injured and taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery, Dawn reported.

The report quoted police and lawyers as saying the four shooting victims were members of the legal aid committee of the Shiite Lawyers Forum, but were not handling any high-profile cases at the time of the attack.

Shiite Muslims are a minority in Sunni-majority Pakistan. The Shiite Ulema Council announced three days of mourning, the report said.

The shootings sparked protests in some sections of Karachi.

Hundreds of people have died in sectarian violence since last year in Karachi -- Pakistan's largest city, its financial center and main port.

The latest killings were strongly condemned by Pakistan's lawyer community across the country, the Express Tribune reported.

© 2012 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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