Pakistan: At least 20 killed, 7 injured in attack on coal miners

At least 20 miners were killed and seven injured in an attack by armed men on a small private coal mine in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan on Friday, police said.

The mineral-rich region borders Afghanistan and Iran and has been troubled for decades as Baloch insurgent groups fight against the state, saying it denies them their share of regional resources.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"A group of armed men attacked the Junaid Coal company mines in the Duki area in the wee hours using heavy weapons," said Humayun Khan, the police station house officer for the town, located east of the city of Quetta.

They fired rockets and grenades at the mines as well, he added.

The attackers gathered the miners at one place and opened fire on them, local media reported, adding that they also set mining machinery on fire.

There are ten coal mines located in the area, a company officifal told local media.

"We have received 20 bodies and six injured so far at the district hospital," said Johar Khan Shadizai, a doctor in Duki.

Pakistan has seen a resurgence of militancy since 2022 when a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban and the government broke down.

Two Chinese nationals working for a power plant were killed and a third injured in an explosion near the international airport in the southern city of Karachi earlier this week.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of several insurgent groups battling the government, claimed responsibility for the attack.

BLA was also behind Balochistan's most widespread violence in years in August, when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines, and highways, killing more than 70 people.