Bus attack revives security fears

Bus attack revives security fears

LAOS: The bloody weekend ambush of a bus in Laos has revived
security fears in Vietnam's tiny western neighbor and left
diplomats in the Laotian capital Vientiane puzzling over the
identify of the assailants.

There has been no claim of responsibility for Sunday's attack
which left at least 12 people dead and another 31 wounded,
according to a toll published by the state-owned English-language
Vientiane Times on Tuesday.

There has also been no official account of the attack from the
authorities, although the newspaper attributed the massacre to
unidentified "bandits".

According to the Vientiane Times, the bus was carrying 69
passengers, mostly students from the National University in
Vientiane, when it was attacked by a group of gunmen at dawn on
Sunday.

The attack occurred shortly after the bus stopped near the
village of Phoukhoun on Route 13, which links Vientiane with the
former royal capital Luang Prabang.

"Bandits opened fire on the bus killing and wounding
passengers then boarded it to rob them," the Vientiane Times
said. "They then torched the bus before fleeing into the forest."
-- AFP