Gunmen killed at least six people in "coordinated" attacks in southwestern Pakistan that largely targeted bus passengers based on their ethnicity, police said on Thursday, the latest in a spike in violence in the region.
Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces, foreign nationals and non-locals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
"Terrorists have targeted passenger buses and security officials in multiple districts of Balochistan, killing at least five non-local passengers and a security official," a senior provincial police official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The incident took place in the coastal town of Pasni in Gwadar district.
"They stopped passenger buses and identified non-local travellers," the official added.
Dozens of militants have carried out the attacks in several districts of the province after they took control of major highways and set up posts to search vehicles, the official said.
In some areas the attacks are still ongoing, he added.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement the attacks were "a cowardly act" and "a crime against humanity".
"Targeting travelers by identifying them is barbaric and brutal", he said in a statement.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, Baloch separatists have intensified attacks on security forces as well as non-locals in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, ethnic Baloch separatists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board, sparking a two-day siege during which dozens of people were killed.
Days later, at least five paramilitaries were killed in a vehicle-borne suicide attack.
Both assaults were claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
The group also launched coordinated attacks last year that included taking control of a major highway and shooting dead travellers from other ethnic groups, stunning the country.
The militants have additionally targeted energy projects with foreign financing -- most notably from China -- accusing outsiders of exploiting the resource-rich region while excluding residents in the poorest part of Pakistan.
Last year was the deadliest year in a decade in Pakistan, following a trend of rising militancy since the Taliban took control in Afghanistan in 2021.
