Knife-like object was also used in Karachi bus attack

Islamabad: A sharp knife-like object was used apart from 9 mm automatic pistols and Kalashnikov rifles in the Karachi bus attack two days ago in which 46 people from a minority Islamic community in Pakistan were killed, an autopsy report stated on Friday.

According to the medical examiners, three victims -- two men and a woman -- received cuts on their head and neck from a sharp-edged knife-like object, Geo News reported.

The postmortem reports of 43 victims -- 17 women and 26 men -- were prepared by police surgeon Jalil Qadir. 

Eighteen victims died from single bullet wounds, while 25 received two to three bullets, report said.

Several victims were shot in the head from point-blank range, said the report that put the ages of the victims between 20 and 70 years.

According to Sindh Police's counter-terrorism department chief Raja Umer Khatab, four attackers got on the bus and shot the victims, most of them in the head at close range.

"Four gunmen entered the bus. We have evidence suggesting that they got on the bus from both (front and back) doors," said Khatab, adding that two to three attackers may have waited outside the bus on their motorcycles.

"There were 57 seats in the bus and they went up to 55 seats and shot the victims in the head. Most of the deaths occurred because the victims were shot in the head," he added.

Khatab said that police were in the process of completing the forensics report. 

"We are working on the rest of evidence and taking statements from eyewitnesses," he said. 

He also confirmed that 9 mm pistols and Kalashnikov rifles were used in the gruesome attack.

On Wednesday morning, terrorists stormed into a bus belonging to the Ismaili community, a sub-sect of Shias, and killed 46 people in the worst attack on a bus in Pakistan.