Shiite Group Gunned Down In Pakistan
July 30, 2011 by UPI - United Press International, Inc.
QUETTA, Pakistan, July 30 (UPI) — Gunmen sprayed a van with bullets Saturday in the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta killing 11 people and injuring three others, police said.
The victims were all Shiite Muslims, a minority in the province of Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan, the BBC said.
The attack was carried out by gunmen on motorcycles and was the third incident targeting Shiites in 24 hours, The Nation newspaper reported. Suspected sectarian violence has killed 21 people in Quetta since Thursday night, the newspaper said.
A militant group with known ties to the Sunni Muslim al-Qaida terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the latest attack, the BBC said. Its leader was recently freed from prison after completing a 10-year sentence on terror-related convictions, the report said.
While police and local authorities visibly stepped up security patrols and made statements pledging to fully investigate the attacks, locals reacted violently to Saturday’s bloodshed.
Angry residents took to the streets and blocked a major road with a stack of burning tires as they threw stones at police and passing cars, The Nation said.
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