Pakistan Sentences Serial Killer To Death

People hold signs to condemn the rape and killing of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari in Kasur, during a protest in Karachi on January 11.

A court in Pakistan on February 17 sentenced a serial killer to death after finding him guilty of killing eight children, including a 7-year-old girl whose rape and murder sparked national outrage.

Police found Zainab Ansari's body in a garbage dumpster in Kasur district near the eastern city of Lahore in mid-January, four days after she was reported missing.

Police investigators said later that they had matched DNA from eight girls' bodies, including Zainab's, with the convicted killer, Imran Ali, 24.

Hundreds of residents protested after Zainab's body was found, and two were killed when police fired shots to disperse them.

There have been complaints of a number of missing children in the same district of Kasur since 2015 when authorities uncovered what they said was a pedophile ring linked to a prominent local family.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters