Unknown gunmen shot dead nine people and injured scores of others in an attack on a passenger vehicle in an area a few kilometers from South Sudan's capital Juba Friday, police said.

Daniel Justine Bolo, a police spokesperson, told Xinhua Saturday by phone that the attackers targeted a car heading to the border town of Kajo-Keji, some 100 km from Juba.

Bolo said seven people died on spot and two others succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Nine other people are receiving treatment at the hospital in Juba.

Authorities have not yet identified the attackers and the motive behind the killing. Security operatives have been deployed to the area to investigate the incident, Bolo said.

South Sudan has seen increased insecurity since the flare-up of clashes between rival army factions in early July.

There have been a series of deadly ambushes since August on the country's major trade route, which leads to its western neighbor Uganda.

Source : XINHUA