ISLAMABAD (AP) — A government official says gunmen have attacked a bus carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims in southwest Pakistan, killing 20 of them.
Saeed Umrani says the pilgrims were attacked Tuesday as they were traveling through Mastung district in Baluchistan province on their way to the Iranian border. Umrani is a senior official in Mastung.
Pakistan is a majority Sunni Muslim state. Although most Sunnis and Shiites in Pakistan live together peacefully, extremists on both sides often target each other’s leaders and activists.
The Sunni-Shiite schism over the true heir to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century.
