The assailants targeted the Shia Ismaili Muslims, who were going to a nearby community centre; driver had already died
Terrorist group Islamic State massacred 45 Shia Ismaili Muslims, including 16 women, in Karachi by shooting them in the head, in the latest incident of sectarian violence in Pakistan.
Six-eight assailants on motorcycles opened fire on the pink bus ferrying over 60 people to a Shia community centre to stop it, police said. They first opened fire on the bus just near the Dow Medical College and then entered the bus when it stopped at Safoora Chorangi, Gulistan-e-Johar, a relatively deserted area on the outskirts of the city.
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Besides killing 45, 20 others were also injured. The attackers then fled from the scene, police said.
Braveheart
In a display of extraordinary courage, the conductor of the bus drove the vehicle to a hospital, despite being himself wounded.
Rana M Razzaq, a security coordinator at the Memon Medical Centre, where the injured were taken, told reporters that the conductor drove the bus himself as the driver was shot dead.
The conductor, who was injured, reached the hospital with 43 bodies while two injured persons later passed away during treatment.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the grisly attack and said they gunned down 45 people. It was the first official claim of responsibility by the IS leadership of an attack in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
Attack on minorities
The Shia Muslims are a minority community in the country, which has seen a spate of attacks against minorities recently. The spiritual leader of the Ismaili community, The Aga Khan, expressed shock over the attack. “This attack represents a senseless act of violence against a peaceful community. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families of those killed and wounded in the attack,” he said.
PM Nawaz Sharif presided over a high-level meeting of political leaders, in which all of them pledged support to the government to continue its war on terror.