Gunmen have killed a minimum of 22 folks in south-west Pakistan after forcing them out of their autos and checking their id, officers say.
The assault occurred in a single day on a freeway in Balochistan province, the place safety forces are battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence.
The armed males checked id paperwork, reportedly singling out these from Punjab to be shot, earlier than setting the autos alight, officers alleged.
The Baloch Liberation Military (BLA), a militant group, has mentioned it was behind the assaults in Musa Khel district.
In keeping with Najibullah Kakar, a senior native official, round 30 to 40 militants had been concerned.
“They stopped 22 autos,” he advised AFP information company. “Autos touring to and from Punjab had been inspected, and people from Punjab had been recognized and shot.”
The BLA has mentioned it was focusing on navy personnel travelling in civilian garments, based on information company Reuters.
Earlier than the assault, the BLA warned the Baloch public to keep away from the freeway, including that their “battle is towards the occupying Pakistani navy”.
“We’ve got taken full management of all main highways throughout Balochistan, blocking them fully,” it added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep grief and condemnation over the terrorist assault” in a press release issued by his workplace.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province however, though it has extra sources than different provinces, it’s the least developed.
The BLA and different Baloch separatists have intensified assaults on Punjabis and Sinhdis from elsewhere in Pakistan working within the area. They’ve additionally focused international vitality corporations they accuse of exploiting the area with out sharing earnings.
In the same incident in April this 12 months, 9 passengers had been offloaded from a bus in Balochistan and shot useless after their IDs had been checked.
Over previous 24 hours, the BLA has launched a sequence of assaults on a number of authorities installations – together with police stations and safety forces’ camps throughout province.
A number of Western international locations, together with the UK and US, have designated the BLA as a worldwide terrorist organisation.