Gunmen kill four Shiite Muslims, one officer in NW Pakistan

PAKISTAN: Gunmen fired on a vehicle carrying Shiite Muslims in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing four before fleeing in what appeared to be a sectarian attack, police said.

An officer also died in the shootout while pursuing the attackers in the town of Dera Ismail Khan, area police chief Silahuddin Khan said. He said the attackers were riding on a motorcycle, and the slain men included two brothers and two of their friends.

"It seems to be a sectarian attack, but we are still investigating," Khan said. He said the victims had a rivalry with an outlawed Sunni militant group accused of targeting Shiite Muslims across the country.

Pakistan has a history of violence between the main Muslim sects, Shiite and Sunni. Although most Sunni and Shiite Muslims live together peacefully, extremists on both sides often target the other's leaders and activists.

The majority of Pakistan's Muslims are Sunni. The Sunni-Shiite schism over the true heir to Islam's Prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century. Monday, AFP