Gunmen kill 21 miners in southwest Pakistan ahead of an Asian security summit
Police say gunmen killed 21 miners and wounded six others in Pakistan’s southwest
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen killed 21 miners and wounded six others in Pakistan’s southwest, a police official said Friday, drawing condemnation from authorities as a search was launched for the assailants.
The latest attack in the restive Balochistan province came days ahead of a major security summit being hosted in the capital.
The gunmen stormed the accommodation at a coal mine in Duki district late Thursday night, rounded up the men and opened fire, police official Hamayun Khan Nasir said. He said the attackers also fired rockets, lobbed grenades at the mine and damaged machinery before fleeing.
Most of the casualties were from Pashto-speaking areas of Balochistan. Three of the dead and four of the wounded were Afghan. Angered over the violence, local shop owners pulled their shutters down to observe a daylong strike against the killings.
