11 miners shot dead in armed attack at Machh coal field

(Karachi) At least 11 coal miners were killed and several others were injured in an armed attack at Balochistan's Machh coal field, local media reported on Sunday.

Police said that armed men took the coal miners to nearby mountains where they opened fire on them. Machh deputy commissioner has confirmed that 11 miners have been killed in the incident while others injured are in critical condition.

The injured were taken to the Machh hospital for treatment. After news of the incident broke, police and FC personnel arrived at the coal mine and started investigation.

An official of Levies Force, Moazzam Ali Jatoi, said the attack took place near the Machh coal field, about 48 kilometers (30 miles) east of the provincial capital Quetta.

He added that armed men took the coal miners to nearby mountains, where they opened fire on them. He said six of the miners were dead on the spot and five who were critically wounded died on the way to a hospital.

Jatoi said an initial investigation revealed the attackers identified the miners as being from a Shiite Hazara community and the gunmen took them away for execution, leaving others unharmed.

Meanwhile, Provincial Home Minister Mir Zia Langau strongly condemned the attack on workers in the Gushtari area of ​​Mach, Balochistan and sought a report from the authorities concerned.

“No stone should be left unturned in the arrest of the accused,” he said. “An unsuccessful attempt is being made to sabotage the peace of the province,” the home minister added.

Langau stated that state terrorism was unacceptable in every form. The elements involved in the incident do not deserve any concessions, he stressed.

A few days ago, seven paramilitary soldiers were martyred by insurgents in an attack on a military post in Balochistan.

The event took place in the town of Harnai, around 170 kilometers (105 miles) east of the provincial capital, Quetta. The Pakistani military has been fighting a low-level insurgency for decades in the province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.