Gunmen kill five Shia Muslims in Karachi

Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a Shia Muslim gathering in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi late Saturday, killing five people, police and hospital officials said.

Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a Shia Muslim gathering in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi late Saturday, killing five people, police and hospital officials said.

Paramilitary soldiers gather at the site of firing incident in Karachi, Pakistan. (AP Photo)

The attack occurred in a congested neighbourhood in the city centre where Shia worshippers were congregating for a religious gathering, a senior police official told AFP.

“Two attackers on a motorbike opened indiscriminate fire on the participants coming for the gathering,” Tayyab Muqaddas Haider said.

The attackers fled the scene after the assault, he added.

Five people including a woman were killed in the attack while another six suffered injuries, Zafar Rajput, a senior official in Karachi’s Abbasi Shaheed hospital said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Sectarian violence -- in particular by Sunni hardliners against Shias who make up roughly 20% of Pakistan’s 200 million people -- has claimed thousands of lives in the country over the past decade.