Blast kills 19 pilgrims in Pakistan

Quetta, Pakistan – A suicide bomber driving a vehicle packed with explosives rammed into a bus carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims in southwest Pakistan today, killing 19 people, a government official and eyewitnesses said.

Earlier today, 21 tribal policemen believed to have been kidnapped by the Taliban were found shot dead in Pakistan’s troubled northwest tribal region, government officials said.

Pakistan has experienced a spike in killings over the past year by radical Sunni Muslims targeting Shiites who they consider heretics. The violence has been especially pronounced in Baluchistan province, where the latest attack occurred.

In addition to the 19 people killed in the bombing in Baluchistan’s Mastung district, 25 others were wounded, many of them critically, said Tufail Ahmed, a local political official. The blast completely destroyed the bus that was hit and damaged a second bus carrying Shiites that was close by.

An eyewitness who was on the second bus told Pakistan’s Geo TV that the first bus contained more than 40 pilgrims headed to neighbouring Iran, a majority Shiite country that is a popular religious tourism destination.

A second eyewitness said the bomber rushed by in a pickup truck, swerved in front of the first bus and slammed on the brakes. The bus slammed into the pickup truck and then a big explosion occurred.

The 21 tribal policemen who were shot dead were found by officials in the Jabai area of Frontier Region Peshawar after being notified by one policeman who escaped, said Naveed Akbar Khan, a top political official in the area. Another policeman was found seriously wounded, said Khan.

The 23 policemen went missing on Friday when militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons attacked two posts in Frontier Region Peshawar. Two policemen were also killed in the attacks.

Militants lined the policemen up on a cricket pitch on Sunday and gunned them down, said another local official.