QUETTA: Unknown gunmen shot dead six labourers in a remote southwestern Pakistani town, officials said yesterday, in the latest bout of violence to rock the restive region, reports AFP.

The murders took place overnight in Lajjey, about 170 kilometres (105 miles) southwest of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, where Islamist militants—including the Taliban—and ethnic Baloch separatists are active.

“Unidentified gunmen shot dead six labourers and wounded another, who is in critical condition,” local government official Hashim Ghilzai told AFP.

The labourers, from eastern Punjab province, were working on a mobile tower and were sleeping in tents at the site when the gunmen attacked, Ghilzai said, adding that “it appeared to be an act of terror”.

Local security official Tariq-ur-Rehman confirmed the incident and casualties.