The attack by 40 armed men days before Pakistan hosts a summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization grouping is the worst in weeks in the mineral-rich province of Balochistan bordering Afghanistan and Iran, Reuters reported.
"The armed terrorists remained for around 1-1/2 hours in the mining area," regional police official Asif Shafi told Reuters. "They fired rockets and hurled grenades at the mines and miners' quarters."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on the mines of the Junaid Coal Co in the Duki area, which injured six. Among the dead were four Afghan nationals and another four were injured.
Businesses and shops were shut in Duki as hundreds of people gathered along with the bodies of the dead in a protest to demand the arrest of the attackers, police said.
"We were receiving threats from the militants for some time but there was no information about the attack," said mine-owner Khairullah Nasar, who is also the chairman of the district council.
The attackers burnt down all 10 mines, along with the equipment and machinery within, he added.
MA/PR