In a string of attacks, gunmen kill dozens in Pakistan

Separatist militants in the southern province of Balochistan on Monday killed dozens of people in at least three separate attacks, according to Pakistani media. In one attack, militants reportedly targeted and killed 23 people after they were taken from vehicles along a highway. Gunmen killed several other police officers and civilians in another part of the province, according to the prime minister’s office. Authorities discovered the bodies of six people in Bolan where insurgents also blew up a rail bridge that links the provincial capital with the rest of Pakistan, railway official Muhammad Kashif said, according to Reuters news agency. Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif ordered an investigation into the incidents.

Who is responsible? The Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The group is an ethnic separatist organization that is seeking independence from Pakistan and claims that the central government is exploiting Balochistan’s natural resources. Militants have also targeted Chinese mining operations, officials, and citizens in the region. The United States in 2019 designated the BLA as a global terrorist group.

Dig deeper: Listen to Onize Ohikere’s report on The WORLD and Everything in It podcast about how Christians are persecuted in Pakistan.