LAHORE, Pakistan, Aug 22, 2024 (AFP) - Gunmen opened fire on a school van in Pakistan Thursday, killing two girls and wounding six others, including the driver who was the target of the attack, police said.

The children were on their way to school when the attack happened around 8:00 am in a sparsely populated part of Attock city in the country's Punjab province.

"Two children were killed and five children were injured when gunmen indiscriminately opened fire on a school van," local police spokesman Waseem Babar told AFP.

The gunmen, who fled the scene, were embroiled in court cases with the family of the driver, who was also hurt in the shooting, according to Babar.

The girls killed were aged 10 or 11, he said.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that such an attack on "innocent children is (a) very cruel and brutal act".