Karachi, Jul 16 (PTI) Three persons were killed and seven others injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Wednesday, a senior official said.
The vehicle was going from Karachi to provincial capital Quetta when it came under attack in the Kalat area of the restive region, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Three passengers were killed and seven others injured in the tragic incident,” Rind said, adding that the injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Kalat.
He added that the security agencies, district administration and rescue teams have immediately reached the scene to tackle the situation. “Security forces have surrounded the area, and a search operation is underway. Security forces are pursuing the attackers,” Rind said.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, saying the targeting of innocent passengers by terrorists is a “very cowardly act.” The attack comes a week after nine passengers travelling on two Punjab-bound coaches were offloaded and killed by insurgents in the Zhob area of Balochistan.
Incidents of passenger buses being attacked by insurgent groups have increased in the volatile Balochistan province in recent months.
Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has been in the grip of low-level violence for the last two decades. Ethnic Baloch groups involved in armed struggle accuse the federal government of exploiting the mineral wealth of the region. PTI SH/CORR ZH ZH
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