ISIS has taken credit for a terror attack in Pakistan that killed 11 people. Reuters. The attack targeted a group of coal miners from the Shiite Hazara minority in the Suni Muslim majority country. The miners had their throats slit and video has been released online. Hazara Muslims have been targeted in Baluchistan in the past but there has been a lull in the attacks. Pakistan has condemned the attack.
My Comment:
Another ISIS attack in Pakistan. ISIS has made a resurgence there and have been targeting Shiite Muslims, who they consider apostates. Though the terror group has largely been defeated it is still very active in Asia with major bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
This was less of a terror attack and more of a murder spree. The miners were captured and then had their throats slit. There was no mass shooting or bombing, just mass murder. The men did not have any defenses and they were killed quickly.
The Hazara Shiites do not appear to be taking this lying down. They are now protesting their government because they don't feel that they have done enough to protect them. I don't think they are that wrong either. The Sunni government might not want to see these folks murdered but I also doubt that they will go out of their way to protect these people.
Indeed, I think that the Hazara Muslims should take things into their own hands. Pakistan is one of only a few countries that actually have good self defense laws and gun rights. These people have no reason not to arm up to protect themselves from ISIS and other threats.
Should we be worried about ISIS in Pakistan? Probably not too much. They are checked by the Taliban and the Pakistan government and have local targets to worry about. And unlike al-Qaeda I don't think they have much in the way of support from the Pakistani intelligence services. They could eventually become a threat to the wider world but in the near term they aren't a major concern.
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