Authorities in southwestern Pakistan said Sunday that unknown gunmen had kidnapped and killed 11 coal mine workers.
The deadly overnight attack took place in the town of Muchh in Baluchistan province, the largest but least populated of Pakistan’s four provinces, 50 kilometers southeast of Quetta, the provincial capital.
Local officials confirmed that several miners were also seriously injured and being treated in a local hospital.
A post-attack mobile video VOA received showed the slain workers were blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs. The victims were said to be members of the minority Hazara Shi’ite community, which has come under attack from extremists in the past.
No-one immediately took responsibility for the attack.
Baluchistan often experiences attacks on security forces and people working on development projects.
Authorities blame the violence on separatist Baluch insurgents and other extremist groups operating in the natural resource-rich Pakistani province.
Last week, militants raided a security outpost in the remote Harnai district of Baluchistan, killing at least seven paramilitary soldiers and wounding several others.
