ISLAMABAD - At least nine passengers were abducted and shot dead after gunmen intercepted at least two buses in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, the spokesperson of the provincial government confirmed on Friday.

The attack occurred on Thursday night in Loralai, a district in northern Balochistan, where armed assailants stopped the passenger buses, removed several individuals based on identity, and took them away, Shahid Rind, the spokesperson, told Xinhua.

"They shot dead the passengers belonging to the eastern Punjab province, after taking them to a certain distance from the buses, and their bodies have been recovered," Rind said.

Following the incident, security forces launched a search operation in the affected area to recover any remaining abducted passengers and apprehend the perpetrators, he added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the assault yet.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack, calling the incident a heinous act of terrorism.

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"We will deal with the terrorists with full force, and the blood of innocent people will be avenged," the prime minister said in a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.