QUETTA, June 22: At least two people were killed and 11 others injured when armed men ambushed a bus carrying pilgrims to Iran here on Wednesday.

The AFP quoted a police official as saying that three people lost their lives in the shooting.

Sources said the bus, which left the Killi Karani area with 42 passengers, was intercepted by the gunmen at a bridge in Akhtarabad, on the outskirts of Quetta, when it reached the western bypass. The gunmen opened indiscriminate fire, killing Abdul Hussain and Rahim Shah on the spot.

Police and Frontier Corps personnel rushed to the scene and took the injured to Bolan Medical College Hospital, where three of them were in a serious condition.

DIG Operations Hamid Shakeel told Dawn the victims were on their way to Iran via Taftan, but the pilgrims did not inform police about their travel plan. Other passengers were also travelling in the bus, he added.

Quoting eyewitnesses, the DIG said the assailants were five in number and they were travelling in a white car.

Some of the injured were identified as Qamar Ali, Bashir Ali, Qurban Ali, Faizullah, Haji Jalil, Haji Bayan, Abdul Ahad and Ghulam Sarwar. Three others, who received minor injuries, were allowed to go home after first-aid.

AFP adds: Senior local police official Farid Breach said: “At least three people were killed and nine others were wounded when one of the four gunmen riding two motorbikes opened fire on a bus carrying Shia pilgrims to Iran.”

He said it appeared to have been a sectarian attack but that the shooting was under investigation.