Iranian border guards shot dead at least six Pakistanis and wounded two others after they strayed across the border in a remote southwestern area, Pakistani officials said Friday, Jan 27.

"We received information from border police that eight Pakistanis from Sunsar village along with their livestock went inside an Iranian area," Mujeebur Rehman, deputy administrator of port town of Gwadar, said.

"Six of them were killed in firing by Iranian border forces and two others were wounded," Rehman said. “The shootings happened overnight.”

“Efforts are underway to try and contact the Iranian authorities to retrieve the bodies and the two wounded Pakistanis,” Rehman said, AFP reported.

Earlier this month, Pakistan deported three Iranian border guards after they were pardoned in court by the family of a man killed in a cross-border attack.

The guards were arrested on January 2 in southwestern Baluchistan province after allegedly crossing the border and shooting at a car, killing a Pakistani.