Nine Hazara community members killed in Quetta
24 October, 2014
QUETTA: Eight people belonging to the Hazara community were shot dead here on Thursday when their van was targeted while returning from the Hazaraganji vegetable market after buying vegetables, while another person belonging to the Hazara Shia community was gunned down on the Kirani Road.
After covering only a few kilometres towards Hazara Town, the victims were ambushed by unidentified armed men. The attackers sprayed bullets on the bus targeting all the nine people, who sustained multiple bullet injuries. Eight of them breathed their last on the spot, while another person sustained multiple bullet wounds.
Reports suggested that the assailants had taken positions on the Hazaraganji Road. The unknown attackers opened fire with modern weapons on the passenger coach as it approached them at around 8:50am. The attack was so intense that the victims had no time to flee.
On being informed, officials of the Frontier Corps (FC) andpolice reached the scene of the incident and removed the deceased and shifted the injured to hospital. Moving scenes were witnessed in the hospital.
Hours after the targeted firing, another person who belonged to the Hazara community was shot dead by unidentified armed men on the Kirani Road. The attackers fled the scene leaving the deceased in a pool of blood.
Meanwhile, a powerful bomb appeared to be targeting a paramilitary force patrolling team ripped through the Qambrani Road in the city, killing two people and wounding scores of others.
Reports said that an FC convoy was on its way when the powerful explosion took place at round 11:40am, killing two passersby and injuring 12 others. Owing to the explosion, the nearby buildings and two vehicles in the area were also damaged. The injured were shifted to a local hospital for treatment and the police were probing the matter.
Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch strongly condemned the firing incidents. He expressed deep grief over the loss of lives and prayed for early recovery of the injured. The chief minister directed the administration to make foolproof security arrangements in the provincial capital in order to ensure safety to the life of people.
APP adds from Islamabad: Meanwhile, President Mamnoon Hussain, while strongly condemning the incident of firing on a bus in Quetta, expressed his deep shock over the loss of precious lives. He prayed to Allah Almighty to shower his blessings on those who had lost their lives.
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