Gunmen kill 9 men after abduction in southwest Pakistan, say police

By Saleem Ahmed

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) -Gunmen shot and killed nine men after abducting them from a bus in a troubled province in southwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan and Iran, officials said on Saturday.

A separatist militant group, Baloch Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the Friday night attack in Balochistan province in Pakistan's southwest.

In a statement sent to a Reuters reporter, it said those killed were intelligence operatives, which authorities denied saying they were labourers heading to Iran.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the killings.

Separatist ethnic Baloch insurgent groups in the mineral-rich region have been fighting for decades against the state, saying it denies them their share of regional resources.

Several gunmen intercepted the Iran-bound bus in Noshki district, taking the nine men with them after determining they were from the eastern province of Punjab, said police officer Abdullah Mengal. "All of them were travelling to Taftan," he said.

The victims were shot at close range, he said. Their bullet-ridden bodies were found beneath a bridge after one and a half hours, said the district deputy commissioner, Habibullah Musakhail.

The insurgents have previously claimed responsibility for similar killings in the region, which is home to deep-water Gwadar sea port being developed by neighbouring China. The insurgents have also targeted Chinese nationals and their interests.

Beijing has invested heavily in regional development projects as part of its $65 billion pledge under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

(Reporting by Saleem Ahmed; Aditional reporting by Saud Meusud in Dera Ismail Khan; Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by William Mallard)