Gunmen Kill Two Teachers in Pakistan Sectarian Flashpoint

Gunmen on Tuesday killed two schoolteachers -- one Sunni Muslim, one Shiite -- in a northwestern Pakistani town with a history of sectarian violence, police said.

The double murder came in the Sunni-dominated town of Hangu, around 60 kilometres (40 miles) southwest of Peshawar, the main city of the northwest, as the teachers were going to the government high school where they worked.

"Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire at two teachers of government high school. One died on the spot, while the other died in hospital," district police chief Iftikhar Ahmed told Agence France Presse.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Local residents said the murders had raised tensions between religious groups and they joined students in a protest and blocked a main road in the town.

Hangu lies just a few kilometres from Pakistan's lawless tribal regions, where militants linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida have carved out strongholds. 

It has long been a flashpoint for violence against minority Shiites, who make up an estimated 20 percent of Pakistan's population of 180 million.