Two Sunni Muslim clerics shot dead in Pakistan

KARACHI, Friday (Reuters) Gunmen killed two Sunni Muslim clerics in a drive-by shooting in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi late on Thursday in a suspected sectarian attack, police said.

The clerics were returning from a mosque after attending a religious sermon when unknown assailants, riding on a motorcycle, opened fire on their vehicle in the centre of the sprawling city.

The clerics, identified as Mufti Atiq-ur-Rehman and Mufti Irshad, died instantly. Irshad's son, who was also with them, suffered serious injuries. No one claimed responsibility but police suspect sectarian militants could be behind the attack.

"We are investigating the incident but it looks like targetted sectarian killings," Mushtaq Shah, a deputy inspector general of police, told Reuters.

The clerics were said to be close associates of Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, a leading Sunni Muslim cleric who was gunned down in the city last year.