Gunmen shoot dead 2 at Pakistan mosque

Sep 25, 2010 |

Lahore

Gunmen on Saturday stormed a mosque in eastern Pakistan and fired at worshippers, killing two and wounding seven others, police said. The ambush took place in Bahawalpur city, some 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Lahore.

"Three men armed with pistols entered Al-Qamar mosque and fired at worshippers and as a result of firing two men died while seven others were wounded," Bahawalpur district police chief Babar Bakht told AFP.

"Two of the wounded were in critical condition," he said, adding that the motive behind the attack was not immediately clear, nor anyone had claimed responsibility.

Doctor Abu Ammar Aziz of Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur confirmed that two men with bullet wounds had died and that the two seriously wounded men were undergoing surgery.

The region has a history of internecine attacks by extremists from rival Sunni and Shia sects. Religious violence in Pakistan, mostly between majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shia, has killed more than 4,000 people in the past decade.

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