- Title: PAKISTAN: Gunmen in Quetta kill seven in suspected sectarian attack.
- Date: 15th April 2012
- Summary: BLOOD STAINED INTERIOR OF CAB BLOOD STAINS AND BROKEN GLASS ON BACK SEAT OF CAR BLOOD STAINED GROUND/CAB BLOOD STAINED GROUND
- Embargoed: 30th April 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan, Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Crime,Conflict
- Reuters ID: LVA1HDSK6V0SCHTGBM065PXNTI5U
- Story Text: Unidentified motorcyclists opened fire on a cab in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan on Saturday (April 14), killing at least seven Shi'ite Muslims in an apparent sectarian attack, local media reported.
According to the reports, four people died on the spot as a result of gunfire and another three died on their way to the hospital.
Some others were reported injured by the firing. All those killed were Shi'ites.
The incident sparked angry protest by local Shi'ites who gathered outside a local hospital and torched at least one vehicle.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The majority of Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims, with Shi'ites accounting for around 15 percent of a population of around 180 million. Both communities largely live in peace with each other but militants from the two sides have killed thousands of people in conflicts since the beginning of Islamist militancy in the country in the 1980s.
Shi'ite Muslims are a minority sect of Islam, arising from a dispute over the successor to the Prophet Mohammad 1,400 years ago.
Many extreme Sunni Muslims consider them apostates who have deserted the Islam religion.
At least six Shi'ite Muslims were killed in an apparent sectarian attack early this week when gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a shoe store in Quetta. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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