Chinese workers attacked by Pakistani militants
Two members of a Pakistani separatist group were killed on Sunday when they attacked a convoy carrying Chinese workers to a Beijing-financed port project in Pakistan's Balochistan province, officials said. A spokesman for China's consulate in Karachi said none of its nationals were killed or wounded in the attack, and urged Chinese citizens to heighten their vigilance. Various Baloch separatist groups have claimed attacks on projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in the past, with thousands of security personnel deployed to counter threats. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) said on Sunday two of its fighters died in a "self-sacrificing" attack on a convoy going to Gwadar port in Pakistan's southwest. "The operation has concluded with the elimination of two assailants," a senior police official said, adding that three Pakistani soldiers were wounded. The consulate in Karachi said it had asked Pakistan to "severely punish the perpetrators and take concrete and effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, institutions and projects". "A Chinese convoy from the Gwadar port project was hit by roadside bombs and gunfire on its way back to the port area from the Gwadar Airport," it said in a statement. "No Chinese citizens were killed or injured." The BLA, which frequently exaggerates its successes, claimed in a statement that four Chinese workers and nine Pakistani soldiers had died in the attack. (AFP)