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    February 28, 2012

Gunmen Kill 18 Shi'ites in Attack on Passenger Bus in Pakistan

   VOA News
   Gilgit-bound passengers wait for a bus as transporters suspend their
   service due to firing on their buses, at a bus terminal in Islamabad,
   Pakistan, February 28, 2012. Photo: AP
   Gilgit-bound passengers wait for a bus as transporters suspend their
   service due to firing on their buses, at a bus terminal in Islamabad,
   Pakistan, February 28, 2012.

   Pakistani officials say gunmen disguised in military uniforms have
   flagged down a convoy of commuter buses in a northern province and shot
   dead 18 Shi'ite passengers.
   Police said the gunmen ambushed the four buses early Tuesday in the
   mountainous district of Kohistan. The attackers boarded the buses,
   checked the identity of the passengers, and opened fire on the Shi'ite
   passengers.
   The Associated Press reported that the Pakistani Taliban, a Sunni
   Muslim extremist group, has claimed responsibility for the attack,
   which happened about 340 kilometers north of the capital, Islamabad.
   Pakistan has seen a series of sectarian attacks targeting Pakistan's
   Shi'ite minority. The country has a Sunni Muslim majority, and although
   most Sunnis and Shi'ites coexist peacefully, extremists often target
   members of each community.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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