Gunmen ambush passenger bus in Pakistan, killing 14 – local officials

  18 April 2019    Read: 1273
 Gunmen ambush passenger bus in Pakistan, killing 14 – local officials

A group of gunmen stopped a bus on a highway in southwestern Pakistan before forcing passengers off and executing 14 of them, according to local officials.

While there were nearly three dozen people on the bus in total, the assailants appear to have selectively targeted their victims. Before anyone was killed, the gunmen asked for the passengers’ ID cards. It is still unclear if a specific ethnic or religious group was sought out.

According to local official Jehangir Dashti, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but ethnic-minority Baluchi separatists are well known to be active in the region. The separatists have been waging a low-level insurgency, and often target security services and people from Punjab.

“In this tragic incident, 14 passengers were forced off the bus, they were lined up in a nearby open area and killed by the terrorists,” Dashti said.

Prime Minister Khan called the attack a “barbaric” act and urged authorities to make “every possible effort” to identify and bring the perpetrators to justice.


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