QUETTA, Pakistan — A government official said Friday that gunmen opened fire on a bus outside a small fuel station in southwest Pakistan, igniting a huge blaze that burned 18 people to death.
Local government official Abdul Mansoor Kakar said several passengers were also critically injured in Saturday’s attack in the town of Khuzdar in the Baluchistan province. No one claimed responsibility, and the motive of the attack was unclear.
Khuzdar is located 180 miles south of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, which has experienced a decades-long insurgency by nationalists who demand greater autonomy and a larger share of the province’s natural resources.
The province is also thought to be home to many Afghan Taliban militants.