QUETTA: Five people were killed in an attack by armed men on the construction site of a small dam in Balochistan, officials said on Tuesday, underscoring a worsening security situation in the mineral-rich area.

“We accept responsibility for killing seven informers and instrumentalists in Panjgur, Kech and Quetta,” said separatist militant group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in a statement emailed to journalists.

The five dead, and two wounded, all worked at the construction site in Panjgur, spokesperson for the Balochistan government Shahid Rind said in a statement, saying the attack took place late at night.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said close to a dozen assailants were involved in the attack and that the victims were watching over equipment at the dam construction site on behalf of a private contractor.

“Such cowardly attacks will not deter the government’s resolve to develop Balochistan,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement.—Reuters