FILE PHOTO 

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) — At least 20 miners were killed and six others injured in a suspected militant attack in southwestern Pakistan, an official said on Friday.

Attackers targeted miners in the Duki area of Balochistan, Kaleemullah Kakar, deputy commissioner of Duki, told reporters.

According to local police, the militants also fired rockets and threw hand grenades while attacking the miners and destroyed machinery at the coal mining site.

The victims were from different parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, said Kakar.

So far, no militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the outlawed separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army often targets civilians and security forces in the region.

In August this year, at least 74 people, including 21 militants and 14 security personnel, were killed in multiple clashes and attacks that lasted several hours in southwestern and northwestern Pakistan.

Militants carried out coordinated attacks on the army in the Musakhel, Qalat, and Lasbela districts of Balochistan province, resulting in the death of 21 militants and 10 paramilitary troops.

Additionally, suspected militants killed 23 passengers in the Musakhel district after forcing them to disembark from their vehicles.

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement to local media.

Pakistan has seen a surge in attacks by militants in recent years, particularly in the provinces of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan.

Mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but poorest province. Security forces have long faced a low-intensity rebellion by Baloch separatists, who claim the province has been denied major developments.

The province is also a key route for the $64 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinxiang province with Balochistan's Gwadar port via a network of roads, railways, and pipelines for cargo, oil, and gas transportation.