Heavily armed Baloch gunmen killed at least 40 people in two separate attacks in Pakistan`s Balochistan province on Monday, highlighting a surge in insurgent violence in the troubled region near the Afghan border.

In the first attack, 23 people from Punjab province were killed in Musakhel district after gunmen stopped their buses, checked their identities, and executed them. Musakhel Assistant Commissioner Najeeb Kakar reported that around 10 armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham area, offloading passengers before shooting them. Several vehicles were also set ablaze.