Gunmen on motorcycles killed at least four people at a religious
gathering of Shi'ite Muslims in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, on Saturday,
police said, in the latest attack
claimed by the Sunni militant group
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's Al Alami faction.
The shooting took place in the North Nazimabad neighborhood of the
sprawling metropolis of more than 18 million people, where sectarian, ethnic
and political violence is common.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's Al Alami faction, which targets Shi'ites and
Pakistan's security forces, killed more than 60 police cadets in the
southwestern city of Quetta on Monday in an attack in conjunction with Islamic
State.
But it said it carried out this attack on its own.
"Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al Alami accepts responsibility for those killed
in this attack, and we announce that there is no room for the enemies of the
companions of the Prophet Muhammad in Pakistan," said Ali bin Sufyan, the
group's spokesperson, in a statement.
Provincial police chief Allah Dino Khwaja told reporters men on two
motorcycles fired on the gathering.
Four people were killed and another three wounded, Nasir Aftab, a senior
police officer, said.
Violence and crime has dropped significantly in Karachi since the launch
of a paramilitary operation in the city three years ago, but targeted attacks
still occur frequently.
Shi'ite Muslims make up about 20 percent of Pakistan's 190 million
people, and sectarian attacks against them - including bombings and targeted
attacks - have become increasingly common in recent years.
Since 2002, more than 2,500 Shi'ite Muslims have been killed in such
attacks, according to data gathered by the South Asia Terrorism Portal. At
least 23 people have been killed in such attacks this year, it said.
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