By: Adeel Alvi

SHIKARPUR: Three people, including an imam, were shot dead in a mosque in the Shikarpur district of Sindh, Daily News correspondent reported on Sunday.

The police said two rival groups started shooting at each other at a mosque in Goth Habib Jakro near Garhi Yasin tehsil of Shikarpur district, leaving three people dead.

The deceased were identified as Imam Irshad Mangrani, Dilshad, and Shaman Kakrani, police said.

The bodies were transferred to a hospital. Police started an investigation.

Witnesses said that five to six armed men entered the mosque in Habib Jakhro village of Garhi Yasin taluka in Shikarpur district and opened fire on the people busy offering Namaz-i- Maghrib.

Witnesses, however, said the other persons were also wounded but their names could not be ascertained immediately.

The bodies were taken to the Garhi Yasin rural health centre for a post-mortem examination. The wounded persons were admitted to the same health facility for treatment.

Meanwhile, police rushed to the village and cordoned off the area to arrest the killers. They said raids were also being conducted. However, none of the assailants could be traced till late in the evening.

Shikarpur SSP Tanveer Hussain Tunio said that Ghari Yaseen DPO along with other officers and personnel was supervising the police action whereas police parties were dispatched to nearby areas to apprehend the killers.