Islamabad, Dec 3 (EFE).- At least 10 people were killed and another 26 were wounded on Saturday as unknown gunmen opened fire on a moving bus in northern Pakistan, an official said Sunday.<\/p>
The incident occurred late Saturday along the Karakoram Highway near Chilas town in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan region.<\/p>
Those dead included two soldiers traveling in the bus, which was going from Gahkuch in Ghizer district to Rawalpindi.<\/p>
\u201cUnknown armed persons opened fire on a passenger bus at 6:30pm in the Hudur area of Chilas,\u201d DIamer\u2019s Senior Superintendent of Police Shehryar Ahmed told EFE.<\/p>
Consequently, the bus went out of control and collided with a truck coming from the opposite side, he added.<\/p>
\u201cResultantly, 10 passengers including two soldiers were killed while 26 others were wounded in the attack,\u201d said Ahmed, adding that the truck driver was also among those killed.<\/p>
As soon as the incident was reported, the rescue teams reached the spot and transferred all those wounded to a nearby hospital in Chilas.<\/p>
Announcements were made from the mosques of Chilas for blood donation for the injured.<\/p>
Taking precautionary measures, other vehicles which reached the scene after the incident were escorted away in a convoy.<\/p>
The province\u2019s Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan, in a statement, condemned the attack on the bus and announced the formation of a team to investigate the incident.<\/p>
Khan said that the government will use all its resources to arrest the criminals, and cover all medical expenses of those injured in the incident.<\/p>
According to Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), Pakistan witnessed a 34 percent increase in anti-state violence in November.<\/p>
PICSS data revealed that a total of 63 militant attacks occurred during the last month, resulting in 83 fatalities and 89 wounded.<\/p>
The security forces took down at least 59 militants, while 18 suspected militants were apprehended. EFE <\/p>
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