Roadside bomb kills 12 Shiites in Pakistan

A government official says a roadside bomb hit a minibus carrying minority Shiite Muslims in northwest Pakistan, killing 12 people.

Jamil Khan says the incident took place Wednesday shortly after the victims left Spai village in the Orakzai tribal area. Spai is a predominantly Shiite village. The Shiites were headed for the nearby district of Kohat.

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.

In recent times, attacks by Sunnis on Shiites have been more common.

The Sunni-Shiite schism over the true heir to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century.