BLF killed 20 construction workers in Turbat

QUETTA (AFP) - Gunmen have killed 20 construction workers in Pakistan s restive southwestern province of Balochistan, shooting them at point blank range after identifying they were not local, officials said Saturday.

Balochistan is plagued by violence, with separatists seeking greater control over the province s rich oil, gas and mineral resources, and gunmen have previously targeted outsiders seen as settlers.

The Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) claimed responsibility for the incident.

"Gunmen stormed the camp of labourers in Gokh Don area of Baluchistan late Friday night and killed 20 labourers," senior police official Tariq Khilji told AFP. He said those killed were all from outside the province -- 16 of them from Punjab and four from Sindh province. The incident, which occurred around 1,050 kilometres (650 miles) southwest of Quetta, was confirmed by Akbar Hussain Durrani, a senior administration official in the province.

"The labourers were working on construction of a small local bridge," he said. Hussain said some of the labourers reported being woken from their sleep by the sound of gunshots and screams.

"They had lined them up and shot them at point blank range after identifying their identity," he said.

Goran Baloch, a spokesman for BLF said the group would carry out more attacks.

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