At least 14 passengers were shot dead by unidentified gunmen after they were forced to get down from a bus on Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan province of Pakistan on Thursday.
Around 15-20 armed assailants in camouflage uniform, reportedly stopped five or six buses travelling between Karachi and Gwadar on the Makran Coastal highway, Dawn News reported.
In the Buzi Top area, the gunmen stopped one bus, checked the identity cards of passengers, then offloaded at least 14 of the 16 and shot them, the officials said.
Two passengers managed to escape the massacre, and made it to the nearest checkpost. They were shifted to Ormara Hospital for treatment.
Security forces reached the site of the incident and launched an investigation.
According to Balochistan Inspector General of Police Mohsin Hassan Butt, the incident was a "targeted killing."
Levies and other law enforcement personnel reached the spot and launched an investigation into the incident. The bodies of the victims were recovered from Noor Baksh Hotel.
The motive behind the killings and the identity of the victims are yet to be ascertained. No one has claimed responsibility for the killings, reported Dawn.
Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the killings.
This is the second incident involving mass killings in Balochistan this month.
On April 12, a terror attack targeting the Hazara community in Quetta left at least 20 dead.
Similarly, in 2015, armed men kidnapped about two dozen passengers from two Karachi-bound buses in Balochistan's Mastung area and killed 19 of them.
(With inputs from agencies)
