RAWALPINDI: At least 10 people were killed and 25 others injured when a passenger bus came under gunfire by unidentified assailants on the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, the media reported on Sunday.
Addressing a news conference, Diamer Deputy Commissioner Captain (retd) Arif Ahmad said the accident occurred at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening in the Hudur area of Chilas when the bus came under fire and went on to collide with an oncoming truck, The Express Tribune reported.
He added that the passenger bus had set off from Gahkuch in Ghizer and described the attack as a “cowardly” act.
The official said most of the passengers killed in the attack hailed from across the country, including Kohistan, Peshawar, Ghizer, Chilas, Roundu, Skardu, Mansehra, Swabi and one or two people from Sindh.
The Diamer DC added that two soldiers were among the people killed in the attack.
He added that a member of the Special Protection Unit was injured as well.
Diamer Superintendent of Police Sardar Shehryar said the first responders on the scene were Karakoram Highway (KKH) police personnel, The Express Tribune reported.
He added that they shifted the bodies and injured people to a hospital.
The SP said the other vehicles present at the scene were taken away from there in the form of a convoy.
He continued that the place where the attack took place had been cordoned off to collect evidence.
The injured people, who include women and children, have been admitted to Regional Headquarters Hospital Chilas.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and the motive for the shooting was not clear, The Express Tribune reported.
Expressing his condemnation, the region's Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan termed the attack on the passenger bus as a cowardly act of terrorism.
He announced the formation of a special investigation team to thoroughly probe into the incident.