Pakistani Shia pilgrims killed in gun attack on bus

At least 25 Shia Muslim pilgrims have been killed after gunmen opened fire on a bus in western Pakistan, officials said.

BBC NEWS/The pilgrims had been travelling through Mastung in Balochistan province on their way to the Iranian border when the attack happened.

Several other people were injured, some critically, Pakistani media reported.

No group has admitted carrying out the attack but police say they believe the motive was sectarian.

Sunni and Shia extremists have frequently clashed and launched attacks on each other over the past 20 years.

Police said the bus, carrying more than 30 Shia pilgrims, had come from the provincial capital Quetta and was heading for the border town of Taftan.

Two motorcycles blocked its path as it travelled though Mastung and three gunmen stormed the vehicle, local tribal policeman Dadullah Baluch told the Associated Press news agency.

Shia Muslims are a minority in Pakistan.

It was the deadliest attack against Shias in Pakistan since a suicide bomber killed at least 57 people at a Shia rally in Quetta in September 2010.