2023-12-03 07:50:02
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants fired on a bus in northern Pakistan, killing nine people, including two soldiers, according to local police.
The shooting occurred on Saturday night in the Chilas area of the northern Gilgit Baltistan region, according to police officer Azmat Shah.
The bus was carrying passengers from Gilgit to Rawalpindi. The driver lost control of the vehicle when he was hit by firearms and crashed into a truck. The truck caught fire, and the drivers of both vehicles died.
At least 26 people were injured in the incident and taken to local hospitals.
Gilgit Baltistan Home Minister Shams Lone told reporters that the incident was “an act of terrorism” and that two Pakistani army soldiers were among the dead.
A local Islamic cleric, Mufti Sher Zaman, was also wounded, he added.
The scene was cordoned off following the incident and police helped move traffic through the area in groups, according to police officer Sardar Shehryar.
Gilgit Baltistan Chief Minister Gulbar Khan said a special investigation team had been formed to investigate what happened. Security agencies have been ordered to identify and arrest the culprits, he added.
Muhammad Khorasani, spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, in a statement denied any link to the shooting and said it was not the work of his group.
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