Gunmen kidnap, execute 11 coal miners in Balochistan
Eleven coal miners killed in a sectarian terror attack at the Machh coalfield in Balochistan a day earlier will be buried today (Monday). Eleven coal miners belonging to the Shia Hazara community sleeping in their room were held at gunpoint, blindfolded and trussed up before being executed by unidentified attackers in the Mach coal field area in the early hours of Sunday morning, official sources said.
The gruesome attack that took place in the mountainous Bolan district, some 100km from Quetta, sparked street protests and drew nationwide condemnation.
Islamic State said its Pakistan branch executed the ethnic Hazara men. The Islamic State group has targeted Shi’ite Muslims, their shrines and places of worship in countries where the terror organization has its loyalists. Additionally, Islamic State militants in recent months have carried out major attacks against the Hazara community in Afghanistan, killing scores of people.
Provincial government spokesman Liaquat Shahwani said Pakistani police and paramilitary forces were searching for the assailants.
The incident outraged Hazaras who took to the streets in protest and blocked a main highway linking Quetta with other cities. They placed bodies of the victims on the road to demand justice and security.
The Persian-speaking Hazara community emigrated from neighboring Afghanistan more than a century ago and are settled in parts of Quetta.
