Seven people, four of them Shia pilgrims and one an Iranian national, were killed and one wounded when gunmen opened fire on the office of a transport company in Quetta on Friday. The banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the killings. The attack took place on Sariab Road at the offices of a private bus service. Police quoted eyewitnesses as saying four armed men had sprayed a volley of bullets on the Shia pilgrims, who were about to board an Iran-bound bus, from a car. Four of the pilgrims and an Iranian national were killed and one was wounded.
Sariab Superintendent of Police Fareed Barech told Pakistan Today that the victims were going to cross into Iran from the border city of Taftan and were waiting for the bus to move when they were ambushed. He said it appeared to be a sectarian attack. Police said the gunmen managed to escape. Police and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the site and moved the victims to Civil Hospital Quetta and the Bolan Medical Complex.
The four slain pilgrims were identified as Syed Qalb Hussain, Arif Hussain, Syed Muhammad Raza and Faheem Abbas, while the Iranian national was identified as Abdul Nabi Reyki. Two other passengers named Asmatullah and Maazullah were also killed. The pilgrims were reportedly residents of Punjab. Ali Sher Haideri, a spokesman for the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, claimed responsibility for the attack.
