QUETTA, Pakistan — A Pakistani government official says gunmen killed six paramilitary troops and wounded two in an ambush on a security convoy in the country’s southwest.

Hasil Khan, a local administrator in Awaran district of Baluchistan province, says the convoy came under an attack by gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades in the district’s Mashki area on Monday.

He says the convoy was on patrol when the attack happened and that a search is underway for the attackers.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the blame will likely fall on Baluch separatists fighting in the region.

Islamic militants also operate in Baluchistan province, which has been the scene of low level insurgency for over a decade. The separatists demand a larger share of provincial resources or complete autonomy from Islamabad. </s> QUETTA, Pakistan — A Pakistani official says gunmen have ambushed a bus and killed 14 passengers after forcing them off the vehicle on a highway in the country's southwest.

Local official Jehangir Dashti says it was unclear who was behind the killings before dawn Thursday.

He says about three dozen people were traveling to the southwestern port of Gawadar when gunmen stopped the bus and killed 14 people after checking their identity cards. The motive behind the killings is not known.

No one has claimed responsibility for the killings but Baluchi separatists often target security forces and people from Punjab, who tend to dominate the ranks of the military stationed in Baluchistan whom the separatists are fighting.

Separatists have waged a low-level insurgency in Baluchistan, demanding a fairer share of the province's resources. </s> QUETTA, Pakistan — Gunmen wearing Pakistani police and paramilitary uniforms ambushed a bus before dawn Thursday and killed 14 people after going through their ID cards and forcing them out on a remote part of a coastal highway in restive southwestern Baluchistan province, officials said.

Hours after the ambush, a new separatist group claimed responsibility for the killings. The attack drew nationwide condemnation and Prime Minister Imran Khan called it “an act of terror.”

Separatists in Baluchistan frequently target Pakistani security forces and also people from neighboring Punjab province. Punjabis, a different ethnic group from the Baluch, tend to dominate the ranks of the military units stationed in Baluchistan that the separatists are fighting.

The attack took place as the bus was traveling on the Makran coastal highway between the port city of Karachi and the Gwadar port in the southwest, said local official Jehangir Dashti.

Dashti said the passengers targeted in the attack were killed after the assailants checked their identity cards but he could not confirm if all the slain were Punjabis.

Security personnel also frequently use buses to travel to their jobs in Gwadar, a port built through investments and help from China.

“Dozens of gunmen” were involved in the attack and fled the scene afterward, Dashti said.

“In this tragic incident, 14 passengers were forced off the bus, they were lined up in a nearby open area and killed by the terrorists,” he said.

Security forces from the nearby town of Buzi Top were dispatched and had reached the area, about 375 miles from the provincial capital, Quetta, he added.

Little is known about the newly formed separatist Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar group, which claimed responsibility for the attack. </s> QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Attacks in Pakistan on Monday killed six members of the country's paramilitary force and two policemen, officials said.

In southwestern Baluchistan province, gunmen ambushed a convoy of paramilitary troops and wounded two in an ambush on a security convoy in the country's southwest.

Later Monday, an attack in the country's North Waziristan region left two policemen dead.

Hasil Khan, a local administrator in Awaran district of Baluchistan, said the convoy came under an attack by gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades in the district's Mashki area. The troops were on patrol when the attack happened, Khan said, adding that a search was underway for the attackers.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but blame will likely fall on Baluch separatists fighting in the region.

Islamic militants also operate in Baluchistan province, which has been the scene of low level insurgency for over a decade. The separatists demand a larger share of provincial resources or complete autonomy from Islamabad.

In North Waziristan, the attack that killed two policemen took place in the Boya area, according to Mohammad Ayaz Khan, the region's top government administrator.

He said a government official, Rehmat Hussain, and a policeman were also wounded in the attack.

Last month, government official Hameedullah Khan was killed in a similar attack in the same area. </s> Six members of Pakistan’s paramilitary force and two police officers have been killed in separate attacks in the country's southwest and northwest, officials say.

Two paramilitary troops were also injured on July 2 when gunmen ambushed their convoy with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades in the southwestern province of Balochistan, said Hasil Khan, a local administrator.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Awaran district.

Resource-rich Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has been plagued by sectarian violence, Islamist militant attacks, and a separatist insurgency that has led to thousands of casualties since 2004.

In the North Waziristan tribal region, officials said a July 2 attack left two police officers dead.

A government official and a police officer were also wounded in the attack, according to Mohammad Ayaz Khan, the region's top government administrator.

Islamic militants had sanctuaries in North Waziristan until a 2014 Pakistani Army offensive, after which most militants escaped to Afghanistan. They continue to carry out sporadic attacks.
Militants ambush a paramilitary convoy in Awaran, Baluchistan, Pakistan and kill six people.