Three Chinese Engineers Killed in Pakistan
Three Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were shot dead in southern Pakistan when gunmen on motorcycles attacked their car.
The victims and three other Chinese engineers were traveling in the car, which was attacked Wednesday on a street in the town of Hub, some 700 kilometers (435 miles) southeast of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, Xinhua news agency reported.
The other three passengers were unhurt, the report said.
The engineers were working for a Chinese company contracted to install equipment and offer technical support in the construction of a local cement factory.
A militant tribal group calling itself the Balochistan Liberation Army contacted local media and claimed responsibility hours after the attack.
The incident precedes a visit to China by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, scheduled to begin Sunday.
Two weeks ago, militants fired rockets at a dam in South Waziristan where Chinese engineers had just returned to work, following the kidnapping of two of their colleagues by al-Qaeda-linked militants in October 2004. One of the engineers died in an attempted rescue operation.
Three Chinese engineers were killed in a bombing in May 2004 elsewhere in Balochistan.