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3 Shia pilgrims killed near Pak-Iran border

Iran Materials 30 January 2010 12:36 (UTC +04:00)
At least three Pakistani Shias have been killed and seven others wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying pilgrims bound for Iran in Pakistan's Baluchistan province.
3 Shia pilgrims killed near Pak-Iran border

At least three Pakistani Shias have been killed and seven others wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying pilgrims bound for Iran in Pakistan's Baluchistan province.

The incident took place on Friday in Hazar Gunji area of Baluchistan as a passenger bus carrying a group of Pilgrims heading towards Iran's border was attacked by four people riding two motorbikes, a Press TV correspondent reported on Saturday.

The local police has described the attack as a sectarian one.

According to city police Chief Ghulam Shabir Sheikh, the assailants managed to flee after the shooting.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Every year, thousands of Pakistanis travel through Baluchistan province to pay pilgrimage on the shrine of Imam Reza (A.S) in the Iranian city of Mashhad.

There have also been reports of grave human rights abuses against Shias in the country.

Shia communities in northwestern Pakistan have suffered from a crippling blockade imposed by the pro-Taliban militants.

In a peace summit held in March 2009 in northwestern city of Parachinar in Kurram Agency, political and religious leaders said the lack of government control had allowed the militants to pursue their aggressive agenda in the region.

Since the 1980s, thousands of people have been killed in violence-related incidents in Pakistan by extremist groups.

Shias say they make up one-third of Pakistan's 160 million-strong population.

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