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12 killed as gunmen attack bus in Laos

BANGKOK April 21. Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a bus in northern Laos, killing at least 12 people and injuring 30 in an area where Hmong rebels fighting the communist government are active, officials said on Monday.

The attack occurred on Sunday morning on Route 13 highway between the resort town of Luang Prabang and the capital Vientiane, said a Lao government official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

No one immediately claimed responsibility.

``The authorities believe that the attackers were not robbers. They shot at the bus to create confusion. They did not take any property from the passengers,'' said the official, contacted by telephone in Vientiane.

He said the gunmen stopped the bus and opened indiscriminate fire. According to initial reports 12 people were killed and 30 were injured, and taken to three hospitals in Vientiane, he said.

``We believe the death toll will be higher,'' he said.

He said the attack occurred at the border of Luang Prabang and Viengchan provinces, about 210 km north of Vientiane.It was not known if there were any foreigners on the bus, which was packed with people on their way back from Phong Saly province to Vientiane after the lunar New Year holidays last week.

AP

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