Italics indicates attacks resulting in more than 40 deaths ‡ indicates attacks resulting in more than 100 deaths Underline indicates the deadliest terrorist attack/s to date
The miners were on their way to work when the gunmen ambushed and dragged them into the nearby mountains.[2]
All 11
miners were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs before having their throats slit. Video of the miners' murders shows the dead men strewn out on the floor of a village hut. The victims were members of the minority
Shia community.[3]
Protests
Not long after the attack, Hazaras blocked roads and burned tires in
Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. They gathered to protest the terror attacks on them and to demonstrate their minority rights. They demanded that the
Prime Minister visit them and personally assure them that justice would be served in the case of the lynched miners.[4]
A demonstration organized by the
Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen in
Karachi continued for three days at over twenty locations in the city.[5][6] Balochistan's Shia Hazara community continued a
sit-in protest with the dead bodies for six straight days on Quetta's Western Bypass, refusing to bury the
murdered miners.[7][8]
Government action and burial
The
government ordered the law enforcement agency to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice, with
Prime MinisterImran Khan denouncing the murders as "an inhumane act of terrorism".[9][10]
The
Interior MinisterSheikh Rasheed Ahmad also visited the families of the victims and assured them that the culprits involved in the attack will be brought to justice at all costs. He expressed condolences to the families of victims and announced compensation for them.[11] The attack was also condemned by
Afghanistan. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan stated that seven Afghan Hazaras were among the 11 miners who were killed.[12]
On January 9, 2021, the miners were buried at
Hazara Town cemetery in Quetta.[13] The same day, Imran Khan reached Quetta where he met the families of the murdered miners.[14]
Claim of responsibility
In due course, the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack through the Telegram communication channel of the
Amaq news agency.[3]