[Source: BBC News]

Gunmen have killed at least 22 people in south-west Pakistan after forcing them out of their vehicles and checking their identity, officials say.

The attack happened overnight on a highway in Balochistan province, where security forces are battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence.

The armed men checked identity documents, reportedly singling out those from Punjab to be shot, before setting the vehicles alight, officials alleged.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant group, has said it was behind the attacks in Musa Khel district.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that security forces had killed 12 militants in operations after the attacks, but did not give further details.

Over the past 24 hours, the BLA has launched a series of attacks on multiple government installations – including police stations and security forces’ camps across the province.

In Kalat, 11 were killed – five of them security personnel – and six bodies were recovered in another district in Balochistan.