QUETTA, Pakistan - Four assailants attacked the bus carrying more than 50 pilgrims near Mastung town around 50 km from the provincial capital of Quetta.Gunmen opened fire on a bus in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan in a suspected sectarian attack on Tuesday, killing at least 26 Shiite Muslim pilgrims traveling to Iran, police said.
Three more people were killed when gunmen opened fire on an ambulance near Quetta as it headed to the attack site in Mastung.
Militants loyal to Al Qaeda and the Taliban have carried out high-profile attacks on members of Pakistan's Shiite minority in the past. These militants have stepped up attacks against Shiites in Baluchistan in recent months.- Ethnic Baloch militants have been waging a low-level insurgency in Baluchistan for years for more autonomy and greater control over natural resources of the region. Officials say there is no evidence linking them with Islamist militants.
- At least 10 Shiites Hazara were killed in a suicide bombing near Quetta on the Muslim festival of Eid on August 31.
Pakistan has seen a surge in violence since Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces in a secret raid in a Pakistani town in May. Militants have vowed revenge for Bin Laden's death.
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