Pakistan: 7 aid workers killed

Seven aid workers, including five teachers and two health officials, were killed in Pakistan when four gunmen opened fire on their vehicle.

The aid workers had just left work when the shooting occurred in Sher Afzal, a village about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Peshawar, reported CNN. All seven were Pakistani nationals, and all but one were women.

More from GlobalPost: Pakistan: Malala Yousufzai, 14-year-old activist, shot in school attack in Swat Valley

Mohammad Rafiq, a spokesman for the Pakistani non-governmental organization Support With Working Solutions, said this was the first time an incident of this nature had taken place with the NGO and that the workers had not been threatened, according to Voice of America. He said that the seven killed had been working on two projects in the area — one called Ujala, meaning light — and that the organizations has been in the region for two decades.

The killings were a reminder of the risk taken by those trying to help girls and women get an education, noted the Independent. The attack took place in the same province as the shooting of 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai, who made headlines after been shot by a Taliban gunman for promoting girls' education.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest shootings.

Meanwhile, in Karachi, the country's financial hub, an explosion, likely carried out by militants, killed 4 and injured dozens more. The bomb, which went off as a political rally was winding down, was probably aimed at political workers for the city's largest party, which was holding the rally.