Passenger bus attacked in Gilgit Baltistan; 8 dead, 26 injured

At least eight people were killed and 26 others injured when terrorists opened fire on a passenger bus in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's Gilgit Baltistan region on Saturday, police said.

The bus was travelling from Gilgit to Rawalpindi when terrorists opened indiscriminate fire at around 6:30 p.m. in Chilas, an official said.

The driver lost control after the attack and the bus collided with a truck coming from the opposite side, the official said.

Deputy Commissioner Chilas Arif Ahmed said five of the eight people killed in the attack were identified so far.

He said 26 others were injured and shifted to a nearby hospital.

Two army soldiers, who were in the bus, were also among the dead and one personnel of the Special Protection Unit was injured in the attack, the Deputy Commissioner said.

He said most of the people belonged to Kohistan, Peshawar, Ghizer, Chilas, Roundu, Skardu, Mansehra, and Swabi regions and one or two people were from Sindh.

The assailants managed to escape from the scene after the attack.

It said the condition of several persons is critical and that the death toll is expected to rise further.

The police said an investigation has been launched into the attack and a search operation is on to apprehend the terrorists.

Nobody has so far taken responsibility for the attack but the region has a history of terror attacks by militants.

Gunmen stormed a camping site of climbers in Gilgit Baltistan in 2013 and killed nine foreigners.

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