18 killed in gun attack on Iran-bound bus in Pakistan

7 July 2012, 03:28 (GMT+05:00)

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Gunmen on Friday attacked an Iran-bound passenger bus in south-western Pakistan, killing at least 18 people on board and injuring eight others, officials and aid workers said, dpa reported.

The incident occurred in the remote Turbat district of Baluchistan province, when gunmen on motorbikes ambushed the bus and then fled.

Babul Khan of Edhi ambulance service told dpa "At least 18 people have been killed and more than eight injured in the attack."

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf condemned the incident, according to state-run Pakistan radio.

The identity of the victims was not immediately known, but Shiite minority Muslim, who frequently visit Iran to pay respect to some of their holy shrines, have been targeted in the past by majority Sunni extremists who consider them as heretics.

Last week militant attacked a bus in Quetta, which was bringing Shiites pilgrims from Iran, killing 12.