Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) Militants wearing security force uniforms stopped two buses in southwest Pakistan on Thursday and killed 14 passengers after ordering them out of the vehicles, police said.

Balochistan provincial police chief Mohsin Ali Butt told CNN that 15 to 20 attackers stopped the buses near the town of Ormara, in the south of the province.

The militants ordered 14 out of the total passengers to disembark and shot them at close range before escaping. "This was an act of targeted killing," he said.

An alliance of Baloch separatists, Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS), claimed responsibility for the killings, saying in a statement sent to journalists that they had targeted passengers who were part of the country's military.

In the statement a BRAS spokesman said: "Those who were killed carried identity cards of the Pakistan Navy and Coast Guard, and were killed after being identified."

Read More</s>Geo News: 14 killed in attack on passenger bus on Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan, Pakistan</s>QUETTA, Pakistan — Gunmen in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday ambushed a bus on a highway and killed 14 passengers after forcing them off the vehicle, a local official said.

The official, Jehangir Dashti, said it was unclear who was behind the killings, which took place before dawn.

He said about three dozen people had been on the bus, traveling to the southwestern port of Gwadar, when gunmen stopped it and killed 14 people after checking their identity cards.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killings.</s>A naval official and a coast guard member are among those killed

QUETTA, Pakistan – Gunmen killed at least 14 people after forcing them to disembark from buses in Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Thursday, April 18.

The attackers were wearing uniforms from the paramilitary Frontier Corps, provincial home secretary Haider Ali told Agence France-Presse.

The gunmen "stopped buses on the Makran Coastal Highway and gunned down 14 people," he said, adding that the vehicles were travelling to the port megacity of Karachi from the coastal town of Ormara.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came less than a week after a suicide blast in provincial capital Quetta killed 20 people.

Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan's largest and poorest province, as well as the site of Islamist, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.

A naval official and a coast guard member were among those killed, Ali said. – Rappler.com</s>At least 14 people were lined up and executed in southwestern Pakistan after gunmen ambushed a bus and forced the passengers onto a highway early Thursday, officials said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the attack in restive Baluchistan province as "an act of terror."

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, local official Jehangir Dashti told The Associated Press. He said that the passengers targeted in the attack were killed after the assailants checked their identity cards.

US OFFICIALS SEEK EXTRADITION OF MURDER SUSPECT IN PAKISTAN

"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," Dashti said. The identities of the slain were not immediately clear.

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.

In his statement, Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered authorities "to make every possible effort to identify and to bring the perpetrators of the barbaric act to justice."

Separatists have for years waged a low-level insurgency in oil-rich Baluchistan, complaining of discrimination and demanding a fairer share of the province's resources and wealth.

Other militant groups also operate in Baluchistan. Last Friday, a suicide bomber targeted an open-air market in Quetta, killing 20 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</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>Gunmen killed at least 14 people after forcing them to disembark from buses in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, officials said Thursday.

They “stopped buses on the Makran Coastal Highway and gunned down 14 people”, he said, adding that the four vehicles were travelling to the port megacity of Karachi from the coastal town of Ormara.

A naval official and a coast guard member were among those killed, Ali said. All the victims are believed to be Pakistani.

Provincial home minister Mir Zia Langov told AFP a full-scale investigation had been launched into the attack and to track down the gunmen, who he said had fled the scene.

“Such incidents are intolerable and we will not spare the terrorists who carried out this dastardly attack,” he said.

Prime Minster Imran Khan also condemned the killings in a statement from his office.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came less than a week after a suicide blast in provincial capital Quetta killed 20 people.

Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, as well as the site of Islamist, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.

The Islamic State group is also active in the province, and claimed last week’s attack targeting ethnic Shia Hazaras in a fruit market in Quetta.

The Pakistani military has been targeting insurgencies in the province since 2004, and has been repeatedly accused by international rights groups of abuses there. It denies the allegations.

Balochistan is also the site of the flagship project of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The massive infrastructure project seeks to connect the western Chinese province of Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar in Balochistan.

But it has also drawn its share of attacks, particularly by Baloch separatists who have long complained that residents of the province do not receive a fair share of profits from the project.

Violence in Pakistan has dropped significantly since the country’s deadliest-ever militant attack, an assault on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in 2014 that killed more than 150 people — most of them children.

But militants still retain the ability to carry out attacks, and analysts have long warned that Pakistan is yet to tackle the root causes of extremism.</s>Gunmen ambushed a bus and killed 14 passengers after going through their ID cards and forcing them out on a highway in a remote area of southwestern Pakistan before dawn Thursday, officials said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killings. Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack in restive Baluchistan province, calling it “an act of terror.” Separatists in Baluchistan frequently target Pakistani security forces and also people from neighboring Punjab province.

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, local official Jehangir Dashti told The Associated Press. He said it was unclear who was behind the killings.

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, he 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,” Dashti said.

Security forces from the nearby town of Buzi Top were dispatched and had reached the area, about 600 kilometers from the provincial capital, Quetta, he added.

In his statement, Prime Minister Khan ordered authorities “to make every possible effort to identify and to bring the perpetrators of the barbaric act to justice.”

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Pakistan had rendered great sacrifices in the war on terror, which has not ended yet.

Other militant groups also operate in Baluchistan. Last Friday, a suicide bomber targeted an open-air market in Quetta, killing 20 people in an attack claimed by ISIS.</s>QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen ambushed a bus and killed 14 passengers after going through their ID cards and forcing them out on a highway in a remote area of southwestern Pakistan before dawn Thursday, officials said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killings. Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack in restive Baluchistan province, calling 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, local official Jehangir Dashti told The Associated Press. He said it was unclear who was behind the killings.

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, he 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," Dashti said.

Security forces from the nearby town of Buzi Top were dispatched and had reached the area, about 600 kilometers (375 miles) from the provincial capital, Quetta, he added.

In his statement, Prime Minister Khan ordered authorities "to make every possible effort to identify and to bring the perpetrators of the barbaric act to justice."

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Pakistan had rendered great sacrifices in the war on terror, which has not ended yet.

Separatists have for years waged a low-level insurgency in oil-rich Baluchistan, complaining of discrimination and demanding a fairer share of the province's resources and wealth.

Other militant groups also operate in Baluchistan. Last Friday, a suicide bomber targeted an open-air market in Quetta, killing 20 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.</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.
14 people are killed in a gun attack on a bus in Pakistan.