Advertisement

Bus attack in Pakistan kills eight

At least 500 Hazaras have been killed in Pakistan since 2013.

By Ed Adamczyk
Pakistani trucks carrying NATO and U.S military vehicles cross the Quetta Chaman highway. UPI/Matiullah Achakzai
Pakistani trucks carrying NATO and U.S military vehicles cross the Quetta Chaman highway. UPI/Matiullah Achakzai | License Photo

QUETTA, Pakistan, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- At least eight Shia Muslims of the minority Hazara community died after their bus was sprayed with gunfire Thursday in Quetta, Pakistan.

The Hazaras, a Pakistani ethnic and religious minority, have been victims of recent sectarian violence. Human rights groups have estimated at least 500 Hazaras have died in attacks since 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Advertisement

Two unidentified men on motorcycles intercepted the bus and opened fire before fleeing, witnesses said.

The incident occurred in the capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province, the scene of similar attacks. A recent report by the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said violence in the province has forced over 300,000 people, mostly Hazaras and Hindus, to be displaced. The community has been the target of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida; over 200 Shias in Quetta were killed in attacks by the group last year.

In a separate incident in Quetta, two people died and 12 were injured when a vehicle carrying paramilitary soldiers struck a motorbike carrying a bomb.

Latest Headlines