Gunmen kidnap 8 Pakistani aid workers

Tuesday 19 Jul 2011

Gunmen kidnapped eight Pakistani aid workers who had been distributing food to refugees in a dangerous part of the country close to the Afghan border

Aid workers were seized late Monday in the Surkhab area of southwestern Baluchistan province, said local administration official Habibullah Khan.

Khan said all the workers were Pakistanis. It was not clear which group they were working for.

Police officer Mateen Khan said they had been handing out food to refugees from Afghanistan.

A separatist insurgency has wracked Baluchistan for years and incidents of kidnapping for ransom are common there.

Islamist militants are also active in the region.

Earlier this month, a Swiss man and woman were kidnapped, and they have yet to be recovered.

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