At least 25 Shia pilgrims, including 10 women, were killed when suicide bombers attacked their buses in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province as they were returning from Iran, officials said on Monday.
The attack took place on Sunday when 10 buses carrying the Shia pilgrims stopped at a hotel in Taftan near the Iranian border. Six of the attackers were killed by security forces after heavy exchange of fire, Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, told reporters.
“As soon as the pilgrims came out of the buses to go to the hotel first a group of militants first opened indiscriminate fire on them and also threw hand grenades before rushing into the hotel and taking refuge there,” Bugti said.
The Commissioner Quetta, Qambar Dashti, told PTI that 25 people were killed in the attack and condition of some of the injured was critical. Authorities said there were 10 women among the dead.
Sunni-militant group Jaish-ul-Islam has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.
A purported spokesman for the group, Azam Tariq, called Quetta-based journalists from an undisclosed location to claim credit for the deadly attack.