Three labourers killed in Turbat targeted attack

Attack comes days after gunmen killed 10 labourers near Gwadar

QUETTA: Three labourers building a highway were killed and another was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kech district, some 125 kilometres north-east of Turbat town, on Friday.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the deadly targeted shooting, but previous such attacks have been unleashed by outlawed Baloch separatist groups.

The assault came days after 10 labourers were killed execution-style in Makran division. The banned Baloch Liberation Army claimed credit for the macabre violence.

The four labourers, employed by the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), went to Hoshab town from the construction site to buy daily supplies when two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on them, official sources told The Express Tribune.



One labourer died instantly, while the three others suffered multiple gun wounds. They were immediately driven to the District Headquarters Hospital Turbat where two of them succumbed to their injuries.

Kech’s Deputy Commissioner Sarmad Saleem confirmed the death toll. The victims belonged to the Liaquat Pur area of Punjab.

Saleem also confirmed that the labourers were employed by the FWO which is constructing M-8 – a major highway linking Gwadar to Quetta – as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The bodies of the victims were sent to their native town for burial, while security forces mounted a manhunt for the killers.

Separatist militants have killed at least 54 workers in Balochistan since 2014, security officials say. In 2015, the government created an army division, estimated to number more than 10,000 troops, to protect projects and workers involved in CPEC.