QUETTA: Two coal miners belonging to the Shia Hazara community were killed and another two injured when the van they were travelling in came under fire in the western bypass area on Friday.

Police said a group of Hazaras was on its way to the Mach coal mine in Bolan district when the assailants on a motorbike opened fire on their vehicle near the main western bypass. As a result, four of them were injured.

“The coal miners were returning to the Mach coal field after a holiday,” said Deputy Inspector General Police Abdul Razzak Cheema.

Police and Frontier Corps personnel rushed to the site soon after the incident. The injured were first taken to Bolan Medical College Hospital and then shifted to Combined Military Hospital.

Two of the injured — Habibullah and Abdul Hussain — died during treatment.

The bodies were hand over to the heirs.

The injured were identified as Syed Mubarak and Muhammad Younus.

Security forces launched a search operation to trace the attackers but no arrest was reported in this regard.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2017