QUETTA: Four women were killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on a bus in the provincial capital’s Pud Gali Chowk on Tuesday.
Several persons were seriously wounded as per reports circulating in local media, however, official number of casualties were due to release.
A police officer told media that two motorcyclists opened fire on a local bus, killing four women and injured one.
In initial reports, police officials said the women appeared to be from the minority Hazara Shia community, and that the bus was travelling to Hazara Town.
Local television channels reported that the bus was carrying upto 40 passengers.
Frontier Corps and police teams were dispatched to the area to control the situation. The injured were taken to Bolan Medical Hospital in Quetta for treatment.
Security in and around hospital has been tightened.
Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri has condemned the incident.
Balochistan has been experiencing incident violence and targeted killings since more than a decade. More than 1,400 incidents targeting the minority Shia and Hazara community have taken place in the province during the past 15 years.
While sectarian terrorism in Balochistan has disproportionately targeted the Hazara community, easily identifiable because of their distinctive physical appearance, other Shias — especially pilgrims travelling to and from Iran — have not been spared either.
