Roadside bomb kills 12 Shiites in Pakistan
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A minibus carrying Shiite Muslims hit a roadside bomb in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 12 of them in the country's latest apparent sectarian attack.
The incident took place shortly after the victims left Spai, a predominantly Shiite village in the Orakzai tribal area, said local government official Jamil Khan. They were headed for the nearby district of Kohat, he said.
Pakistan is a majority Sunni Muslim state, and most Sunnis and Shiites live peacefully together. But the country has a long history of sectarian attacks by extremists on both sides.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Attacks by Sunni militants on Shiites have been on the rise over the last year, especially in southwestern Baluchistan province.
The Sunni-Shiite schism over the true heir to Islam's Prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century.