Gunmen kill 43 on bus bound for Shiite community center in PakistanMay 13, 2015 - 12:27 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Gunmen killed 43 people on Wednesday aboard a bus in southern Pakistan bound for a Shiite community center, in the latest attack targeting the religious minority, police said, according to the Associated Press. More than a dozen others were wounded in the attack in the port city of Karachi, said provincial police chief Ghulam Haider Jamali. He said 16 women were among the dead. The bus was en route to a community center for Ismaili Shiite Muslims when six gunmen boarded it and sprayed the passengers with bullets, he said. The attackers then fled the scene on three motorcycles. "These are the people who are extremists, who are terrorists," he said of the assailants. "These are the same people who have been doing terrorism before." No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban and other Sunni Muslim extremist groups, which view Shiites as apostates, have long had a presence in Karachi and have targeted Shiites in the past. Ismaili Shiites are a tiny minority in mostly Sunni Pakistan. "They were innocent people," Sindh province Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah said. "We feel very sorry for this ghastly act." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. |