Three employees of an oil and gas company and their paramilitary escort were kidnapped and shot dead in the mountains of northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, officials say.
Local officials said the abduction and killings occurred on October 23 in the North Waziristan tribal region, where the Pakistani military has been fighting against the Taliban and other militant groups for more than a decade.
The three employees of Maripur Oil and Gas Company and the member of the Frontier Corps paramilitary force were heading toward their office when they were kidnapped by unknown gunmen, local officials said.
Their bullet-riddled bodies were found near the village of Spinwam following a search operation, the officials added.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the incident.
Violence in Pakistan has declined in recent years following a series of military operations along the northwestern border with Afghanistan, but militant groups are still able to carry out deadly attacks.
With reporting by AFP and Dawn