14 workers involved in construction projects were kidnapped in two separate incidents in Balochistan’s Khuzdar and Barkhan districts over the past 24 hours, police said on Sunday.

Armed assailants also snatched weapons from police personnel during one of the attacks, according to local authorities.

In Khuzdar district, unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles attacked the camp of a private construction company working on an under-construction water channel project in the Molla area, about 50 kilometres from Khuzdar.

The attackers forcibly rounded up nine workers, placed them in a vehicle at the camp and took them to an unknown location, police said.

Among those abducted is project manager Gul Sher. Two of the kidnapped workers are from Sindh, while the remaining seven belong to different areas of Balochistan.

In a separate incident in Barkhan district, armed men attacked a crash plant operated by a private company engaged in road construction near the Dhola River.

The assailants fired shots in the air, abducted five workers and fled towards nearby hills, police said.

The kidnapped workers are reported to be residents of Musa Khel district in Balochistan.

Local police said the attackers also targeted a police post located some distance from the crash site and seized weapons from three police personnel stationed there.