UPDATE: Gunmen kill 7 laborers, abduct over 20 in southwest Pakistan

UPDATES WITH ABDUCTION OF OVER 20 LABORERS, CHANGES LEDE, AND HEADER

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Unidentified gunmen killed seven laborers and kidnapped over 20 in two separate terrorist attacks in southwest Pakistan, police said on Sunday.

The first incident occurred in the Panjgur district of southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday night, where gunmen opened fire on a group of laborers in an under-construction house.

All the deceased and injured belonged to the northeastern Punjab province.

In another incident, armed assailants stormed the camp of a construction company in the Musakhel district on Sunday morning, and kidnapped over 20 laborers, local broadcaster Geo News reported citing police officials.

There was no immediate word on the abductees' well-being or their captors' demands.

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, however, security forces point a finger of blame at outlawed separatist groups that have long been targeting laborers from Punjab.

Suspected militants killed 23 people from Punjab last month after forcing them to disembark from several vehicles near the Musakhel district of Balochistan.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terror attacks in recent years, particularly in the provinces of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan.

Mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but poorest province. Security forces have long faced a low-intensity rebellion from Baloch separatists, who claim the province has been denied its due developments.