Mastung attack: Gunmen kidnap four oil tanker drivers

QUETTA: Gunmen seized four drivers at gunpoint in Mastung district, about 70 kilometres away from the provincial capital of Balochistan, on Sunday.

“The gunmen were riding on motorcycles. They opened fire on eight oil tankers in the Kirdgap area of Mastung,” a senior official of the Balochistan Levies told The Express Tribune. “The tankers were en route to the Sandak Gold and Copper project site from Karachi,” he added.

The drivers stopped their vehicles in panic. Subsequently, the gunmen kidnapped four of them at gunpoint. “The incident took place at 10:30am,” the Levies official said.

“When a Levies contingent reached the site, they found eight oil tankers abandoned on the highway,” a senior official of Kirdgap Levies Thana said. “Four of the tankers were damaged and oil was oozing out from them.”

“The motive behind the attack is unknown,” the Levies official said. The Levies force, led by DC Mastung, has launched a manhunt for the kidnappers. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2015.