Gunmen on motorbikes kill 9 labourers in south-west Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) - Nine labourers were killed on Thursday when gunmen riding on motorbikes sprayed bullets at road workers in Pakistan's troubled south-western province of Baluchistan, officials said.

A group of four or five armed men came to the site of road building works in the town of Dasht, about 25km south of the provincial capital Quetta, and opened fire, senior administration official Irfan Shah said.

"The gunmen fled on their motorbikes leaving nine people dead and four injured," he said, adding that one was in a critical condition.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The oil and gas rich province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan is plagued by sectarian violence, attacks by Taleban militants and a tribal insurgency.