Quetta: Three policemen were gunned down in Pakistan's troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.
The shooting took place in New Saryab, a suburb of Quetta, the provincial capital.
"A police station chief, his guard and drivers were martyred on the spot when unknown gunmen on motorbikes sprayed bullets on a police vehicle," Hamid Shakil, a senior police officer, said.
Shakil said "it was an act of terrorism" and added that no group had yet claimed responsibility for the shooting.
A senior security official also confirmed the attack and casualties.
Baluchistan is beset by separatist unrest, Islamist militancy and sectarian violence between majority Sunnis and minority Shi’ite Muslims.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed since Baluch rebels rose up in 2004 against the federal Pakistani government, demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's oil, gas and mineral resources.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 08, 2011, 10:19