Gunmen stormed a coal mine in the volatile south-western Pakistani province of Balochistan with rocket launchers and hand grenades, killing at least 20 labourers and wounding several others.

The latest incident occurred in the district of Loralai near the provincial capital of Quetta overnight, local police officer Murad Khan said on Friday.

The victims, which included Afghan nationals alongside people from different parts of the province, were killed in their sleep and some of the bodies were charred beyond recognition, the officer said.

No group has yet claimed the responsibility for the latest attack but sub-nationalist militants in Balochistan often target security forces and civilians.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a militant group of ethnic Baloch guerillas that is fighting for independence from Pakistan, was a prime suspect, another police officer said.

Much of the violence is seen against the Chinese projects in Pakistan to connect China’s Xinjiang region with the Arabian Sea to reach markets in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and beyond.

Baloch militant and political groups accused China of stealing their land and resources including several hundred kilometres of shoreline. 

(dpa/NAN)