Gunmen on motorcycles boarded a bus
and opened fire on commuters in Pakistan's volatile southern city of Karachi on
Wednesday, killing at least 43, police said, in the latest attack directed
against religious minorities this year.
The pink bus was pockmarked with
bullet holes and blood saturated the seats and dripped out of the doors on to
the concrete.
"As the gunmen climbed on to the
bus, one of them shouted, 'Kill them all!' Then they started indiscriminately
firing at everyone they saw," a wounded woman stated.
Sources said there were six gunmen
and the all the passengers were Ismailis, a minority Shi'ite Muslim sect.
Pakistan is mostly Sunni.
Militant group Jundullah, which has
attacked Muslim minorities before, claimed responsibility. The group has links
with the Pakistani Taliban and had pledged allegiance to Islamic State in
November.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he
was saddened by the attack.
"This is a very patriotic and
peaceful people who have always worked for the wellbeing of Pakistan," he
said. "This is an attempt to cause division among our people’’ he stated.
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