MANSEHRA: Over a dozen gunmen dragged 20 Shia Muslim travelers off a bus and shot them at point blank range in northern Pakistan on Thursday, breaking the fragile peace in the region and marking the third such incident in six months, Dispatch News Desk (DND) reported on 16 August, 2012.
The attack happened in the northwestern district of Mansehra as the bus was travelling between Rawalpindi and the mainly Shia northern city of Gilgit.
Officials said it was ambushed in the hills of Babusar Top, around 100 miles north of the capital Islamabad, although they differed over details of the incident.
“Over a dozen people wearing army uniform stopped the bus and forced some people off the bus,” said Khalid Omarzai, administration chief in Mansehra told Dispatch News Desk (DND).
“After checking their papers, they opened fire and at least 20 people are reported to have been killed. This is initial information and the final toll may go up. They are all Shias,” he said.
DND
