PISHIN, Balochistan: Four labourers were killed, and one was injured in a Pishin labourers attack when unidentified armed men opened fire at a road construction site on Tuesday, officials said.
The shooting occurred near Saranan in the Sulemanzai area along the Quetta-Chaman Highway, according to Balochistan Chief Minister’s aide for political and media affairs Shahid Rind.
Rind said the men were working on an under-construction road when the attackers targeted them. Authorities moved the injured labourer and the bodies to the district hospital.
A senior police officer posted in the area said the assailants arrived on motorcycles and opened fire, killing four workers at the scene.
Police and security forces later launched an investigation. The victims were from Punjab and had travelled to Balochistan for work.
The shooting was the second major security incident reported around Saranan within three days. Armed men had earlier taken control of a police station.
Read: Mastung Explosion Kills at Least Six in Balochistan
Personnel inside planted explosives before destroying the building, officials said. No casualties were reported in that incident.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) said in its July 31 monthly assessment that overall conflict-related deaths in Balochistan rose from 109 in June to 372 in July.
PICSS recorded 62 security personnel deaths in July, compared with six in June, while civilian deaths increased from 28 to 54.
