7 passengers shot in Balochistan

Unidentified gunmen killed at least seven passengers of a bus on Wednesday after checking their identity cards in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province, officials said.

The gunmen targeted the bus in Barkhan area of the province when it was moving from the provincial capital, Quetta, to Punjab province. The police said the assailants stopped the bus on a national highway by setting up a blockade. The attackers boarded the bus, checked the passengers’ identity cards, and forcibly took seven individuals to a nearby mountain. Shortly after, gunshots were heard.

Barkhan Deputy Commissioner Waqar Khurshid Alam confirmed the incident and the death toll. “All seven who were travelling in the coach belonged to Punjab and were on their way to Lahore,” he said.

The bodies have been transported to a nearby hospital in Rakni, according to the Levies force.

Quoting one passenger, Geo News reported that the assailants took his brother away after checking his identity card. The gunmen numbered between 10 and 12, he said, adding that all were armed with Kalashnikovs. Security forces rushed to the area and launched a manhunt to arrest the killers.