QUETTA: Four employees of Pakistan’s state-owned National Logistics Corporation (NLC) were shot dead near the Iranian border in southwestern Balochistan province, with their attackers later setting their vehicle on fire, a senior government official said on Saturday.

NLC is a state-owned logistics, transport and infrastructure organization that operates across Pakistan.

The attack took place on Friday afternoon near border post BP-250, about 80 kilometers (49 miles) from the coastal town of Jiwani in Gwadar district, where armed men targeted a pickup truck carrying the employees.

A senior government official who requested anonymity told Arab News that police received information that a pickup vehicle and a motorbike had been found off the road near the Pakistan-Iran border.

“When Police conducted a search in the area, they found four bodies lying at different locations who were identified as employees of National Logistic Cell,” he said, adding: “They were shot by unidentified armed men who later set their vehicle on fire.”

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Balochistan has for decades been the scene of an insurgency by ethnic separatist groups that have targeted security forces, government officials, infrastructure projects, civilians and workers from other parts of Pakistan.

A senior police official in Jiwani, who requested anonymity, told Arab News over the phone that police and other law enforcement agencies were investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack.

“The attack happened in a remote and desolate area of Gwadar district,” he said.

The attack comes as Pakistan has intensified counterterrorism operations in the province against militants belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Last week, the Pakistan Army said security forces had killed 48 militants in a string of intelligence-based operations across four districts of Balochistan.