QUETTA: The bodies of nine policemen taken hostage last month by separatist rebels were discovered in southwestern Baluchistan on Monday, a police official said.

'We have recovered nine dead bodies of policemen. They were kidnapped by the Baluchistan Republican Army,' said senior local police officer Kaleem Ullah.

The corpses were found in the area of Naseerabad, some 390 kilometres southeast of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, and the police officers were thought to have been killed about four days ago, Ullah added.

The rebels took 24 police and labourers hostage in the area in late July. Three policemen escaped, and the bodies of 12 others have already been found.

Sarbaz Baloch, a spokesman for the separatists, had earlier this month claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and deaths in a telephone call to reporters in Quetta. He demanded that security forces leave the city.

Pakistan deployed paramilitary troops in Quetta last month to help bolster security after a spate of targeted killings blamed on Baluch rebels.

Hundreds of people have died since Baluch insurgents rose up in 2004 demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's wealth of natural resources. -AFP