Quetta: 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.

“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.

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

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, in which the dead included four Afghan nationals while four others from the country were injured.

Condemnations pour in

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack and expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the incident.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to root out terrorism in all its forms.

Morever, acting President Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said that those who attacked the workers had sunk to unprecedented levels of brutality and must be given strict punishment, as per APP.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti ordered “immediate and effective action against the terrorists.

Federal minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the attack and reassured the public that justice would be served.

“The malicious elements involved in this tragic incident will not escape the law,” Naqvi said.

Pakistan has seen an uptick in terror activities 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 attacks come as the country is preparing to host the summit of the eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in capital Islamabad next week.