close
Thursday March 28, 2024

Gunmen ambush Levies, kill seven near Gwadar

By REUTERS
August 26, 2016

QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen killed six soldiers and a provincial government official in an ambush on their convoy in Baluchistan, a senior official said on Friday.

The attack took place about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Gwadar, a port that will play a vital role in a planned $46 billion China-Pakistan economic corridor stretching from the Arabian sea to China's far-western Xinjiang district.

The convoy had been returning from dealing with a land dispute late on Thursday when gunmen fired rockets and hurled grenades at the group, Tufail Baloch, a deputy district commissioner for Gwadar, told Reuters.

"It was a sudden attack. They also used AK-47 rifles," he said. The dead included a senior local government official.

Pakistan is particularly sensitive to attacks on Chinese workers and interests in Baluchistan, and promised them protection.

Militants have mostly targeted government personnel and security forces during the past decade, but attacks on civilians do occur.

Last year gunmen stormed Jewani airport in Baluchistan, killing engineers and destroying radar systems.