Gunmen kill eight bus passengers in Pakistan
Gunmen have attacked a bus near the town of Chilas in northern Pakistan, killing 8 bus passengers and wounding nearly two dozen others, district and regional officials say.
Reports from Muhammad Ali Johar, a spokesperson for the regional government, indicated that militants ambushed the bus on a Saturday evening, unleashing a barrage of gunfire. The wounded were promptly transported to a nearby hospital for urgent medical attention, with 26 passengers reported to have suffered injuries, some inflicted by bullets.
As of now, no specific group has come forward to claim responsibility for this devastating attack. The motive behind this heinous act remains unclear, shrouded in ambiguity.
Chilas, nestled within the mountainous terrain of Gilgit Baltistan and proximate to the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has witnessed a surge in assaults in recent years. Some of these assaults have been attributed to the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Notably, just last month, an assault was mounted on a Pakistan Air Force base in central Punjab province. Fortunately, the military reported successfully repelling the attack, underscoring the persisting security challenges faced in various regions of Pakistan.