Gunmen kill Shiite pilgrims in SW Pakistan

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus stand in southwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing seven Shiite pilgrims waiting to travel to neighbouring Iran, police said. The attack was the latest violence in the province of Baluchistan, which is beset by deadly sectarian conflict, a separatist insurgency and Taliban militant activity. The seven men were killed as they waited for a coach in the Saryab neighbourhood of Quetta, capital of the oil- and gas-rich province that borders Iran and Afghanistan. "The attackers came on motorcycle and opened fire on the pilgrims. All seven Shiite pilgrims were killed on the spot," Farid Breach, a senior police officer, told AFP. "It was a sectarian attack. The Shiites were the target." There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident, which was confirmed by local intelligence officials. Most Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims, but the country has a significant Shiite minority. Thousands of people have died in sectarian attacks in Pakistan since the late 1980s. In a separate incident, one person was killed and 24 others, including 12 policemen, were wounded when a bomb planted in a football stadium went off in Mastung district, about 45 kilometres (30 miles) south of Quetta, police said. "It was a remote-controlled bomb. One person was killed and 24 others were wounded," senior police officer Abdul Rauf Rind told AFP. Hundreds of civilians have been killed since Baluch rebels rose up in 2004 against the federal Pakistani government, demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's oil, gas and mineral resources.