Bus Attack By Gunmen In Karachi Leaves 43 People Dead

Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a bus in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi on Wednesday, killing at least 43 people, police said, in the latest attack directed against religious minorities this year.

Television channels carried pictures of a pink bus covered in bullet holes and lines of waiting ambulances.

"There were six attackers. They boarded the bus and carried out the shooting," Police Superintendent Najib Khan told Reuters.

He said all the passengers were from the Ismaili community, a minority Shi'ite Muslim sect in majority-Sunni Pakistan.

At least 43 people had been killed and 13 wounded, provincial police chief Ghulam Haider Jamali told media.

Ayesha Aly, a member of the Ismaili community, wept on television as she explained that the bus picked up people for work and dropped them off every day.

"It was on its usual rounds when this attack happened. People were just getting on with their normal lives, out to earn a living," she said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility but Taliban splinter groups have bombed several mosques belonging to religious minorities this year.

In March, suicide bombings outside two churches in Lahore killed 14 people and wounded nearly 80. Days later, a bomb after Friday prayers wounded 12 people outside a minority Bohra mosque in Karachi.

In February, 20 people were killed in an attack on a Shi'ite mosque in the northeastern city of Peshawar, and 60 were killed in a January attack on a Shi'ite mosque in the southern province of Sindh.

Many religious minorities blame the government for not doing enough to protect them. Police are routinely underpaid, poorly equipped and poorly trained.

Karachi, a megacity of 18 million that is Pakistan's financial heart, is also under the responsibility of the paramilitary Rangers, who report to the generals.

CLICK HERE to follow us on Google+ so as to get instant updates on published posts.

CLICK HERE to Subscribe to our BBM Channel (C002D3966 or search for '9ja Ninja') to get live updates on published post.

Follow @9ja_Ninja

Please drop your comments below

Top Stories

1. 3 Men Gang Rape, 18 Year Old Girl. Record Act On Video
2. Girl Dies Trying To Take The Ultimate Selfie
3. German Journalist Ushered Out Of Aso Rock For Asking 'Wrong Questions' About Boko Haram
4. Amber Rose Steps Out With New Boo
5. Sango Worshippers Demand N500K, After Thunderstrike Kills Man
6. Suspects Linked To Daring Lekki Robbery Arrested
7. Black Chyna Steps Out Without Underwear For Her 27th Birthday Party (Photos)
8. 1-yr Old Dies After Mother Kissed And Threw Him Off A Bridge
9. Internally displaced people die of trauma due to Boko Haram attacks
10. Checkout The Most Expensive Phone In The World
11. First Son Of Nnamdi Azikwe, Chukwuma Bamidele Dies
12. Nigerian Becomes 1st Black President Of Westminster College, U.S
13. OJB Denies Kidney Failure Relapse Rumour
14. African China Blasts " We Are The World" Remake. Says Song Was "Bullsh*t Without Him
15. Buhari Urged To Slash Presidency, National Assembly Expenses By 50%
16. Burna Boy Threatens Bloggers
17. Girl 14, Admits Having Sex Willingly With Boyfriend, As Parents Disagree
18. Jonathan Okays Sanusi As Supreme Court Justice
19. Sean Tizzle Kisses Female Fan On Stage In New York
20. Chris Brown Doesn't Want Prosecution For His Stalker