Alwaght- At least 14 passengers in Pakistan’s southwestern restive Balochistan Province have been killed during a terrorist attack on Thursday morning.
The deadly attack took place on the main highway that connects Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi to southwestern strategic Gwadar port, where terrorists in camouflage uniform intercepted five to six passenger buses, Gwadar’s Deputy Commissioner retired Capt. Muhammad Waseem told reporters.
According to reports, the heavily-armed terrorists first offloaded the passengers and then took 16 with them after checking their identification in remote Buzi Top area.
At least 14 were killed by the gunmen while two managed to escape and reached a nearby security check post. Security forces rushed to the spot and shifted the bodies to the area hospital.
Security forces have launched an investigation into the incident, including the possible motive, which might be sectarian or linguistic.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the “dastardly act of terror” and directed the authorities to bring the perpetrators of the “barbaric act” to justice.
Khan also expressed his sympathies with the families of the victims.
In a similar incident in 2015, gunmen kidnapped and later killed 19 passengers of Karachi-bound buses in the mountainous Khad Kocha region of Balochistan.
The large Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has seen a fresh wave of violence in recent weeks. At least 21 people were killed and dozens injured in an attack targeting the minority Hazara Shiite Muslim community in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta the capital of Balochistan province.
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terrorist group, which has targeted the Hazara community in the past, claimed responsibility for the attack.