At least 23 people were killed and five injured in a militant attack in south-western Pakistan, the country’s interior minister said on Monday.
The attack happened early Monday in the district of Musakhail in impoverished Balochistan province, where security forces are battling sectarian, ethnic, and separatist violence.
“Militants stopped several buses, trucks and vans on a highway connecting Punjab with Balochistan,” Najibullah Kakar, a senior official in Musakhail, told AFP.
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“Vehicles travelling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot,” he added.
He said 19 Punjabis and 3 Baloch were killed, mostly Punjabi labourers.
Hameed Zehri, another senior official in the district, confirmed the death toll to AFP.
“It seems that the BLA (Baloch Liberation Army) terrorists are behind the incident,” he said.
The Baloch Liberation Army is the most active militant separatist group in the region.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but poorest province, despite an abundance of untapped natural resources.