PAKISTAN: A string of targeted shootings kill at least nine people and wound three others across Pakistan's Karachi

Record ID: 323934

  • Title: PAKISTAN: A string of targeted shootings kill at least nine people and wound three others across Pakistan's Karachi
  • Date: 4th December 2013
  • Summary: (NIGHT SHOTS) POLICE INVESTIGATING SCENE OF A SEPARATE SHOOTING BULLET HOLE POLICE OFFICIAL SEATED IN BACK OF A VEHICLE LOOKING THROUGH A FOLDER AS ANOTHER OFFICER LOOKS ON POLICE OFFICERS ON SITE OF SHOOTING (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, ABDUL KHALIQ, SAYING: "A little before the evening prayers, at Madani Mosque in block I, there was a preaching group - t
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVABZ2AZXY18K9DSEMJ6O67G2UKH
  • Story Text: At least nine people were killed in a fresh wave of violence in Pakistan's port city Karachi on Tuesday (December 3) after a spate of shootings.
    Early in the day, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a car in the eastern district of the city, killing local Shi'ite cleric, Allama Deedar Jalbani and his security guard, stoking fears of sectarian violence.
    Jalbani was the deputy secretary general of a religious party, called the Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen.
    Further violence rocked the the commercial capital when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire at a religious teaching group, killing at least three people, including two Moroccan nationals.
    The six missionaries who had travelled from Morocco were staying at Madani Masjid, a local mosque in the North Nazimabad area, in the central district of the city.
    Police identified the two Moroccan nationals as Khitab and Abdul Majeed, and said two others were wounded in the attack.

    "A little before the evening prayers, at Madani Mosque in block I, there was a preaching group - two of whom were from Morocco - delivering a religious seminar. When they were heading toward the mosque for prayers, three men on motorcycle approached - one to five, the number is unknown - they opened fire at them, as a result of which at least three people were killed, from the religious group, and two men from the group were wounded," said Superintendent of police in the area, Abdul Khaliq.
    In a separate ambush, not long after, five people were critically wounded when unidentified men sprayed bullets on a vehicle near the Sakhi Hassan Chowrangi area. Four of the victims died while being transported to the local hospital.

    "These people (victims of third attack) passed through the service road when eight men on four motorcycles approached who then opened fire at this group, and after opening fire fled the scene. Four people were killed," Khaliq told Reuters, adding police were investigating all of the shootings.
    The latest series of attacks come amid prevailing tensions between Pakistan's minority Shi'ites and majority Sunni Muslims in recent months.
    A Shi'ite procession in the garrison city of Rawalpindi degenerated into sectarian clashes on November 15, killing at least eight people, most of them said to be Sunni Muslims.
    Clashes spilled over on November 18 into two towns in the volatile northwest when a mob set shops on fire in a predominantly Shi'ite district in the town of Kohat, killing a policeman and a civilian, police said.
    A day later, a Shi'ite university professor and his driver were shot dead in retaliation for the Rawalpindi incident.
    According to Human Rights Watch more than 800 Shi'ites have been killed in targeted attacks in Pakistan since 2012, including about 400 this year.
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