An official says gunmen have killed eleven Pakistanis and Afghans in a border town of southwestern Pakistan as they were trying to cross to Iran to travel on to Europe as illegal migrants, AP reported.

Local government official Zubair Ahmed said Saturday, December 22 the shooting took place late Friday in the Sunsar town of southwestern Baluchistan province.

He said the dead and wounded were Afghans and Pakistanis.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but hundreds of such Pakistanis and Afghans are captured by Iranian border guards every year for illegally trying to travel to Europe to find better jobs.

Iran deports such detainees after questioning.

Quetta is the capital of impoverished Baluchistan province, where nationalist groups have also waged a low-level insurgency.