ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces shot dead five militants in a gunfight in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province, the military said late Friday.
The militants attacked a security forces post in Hoshab area, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing said.
The distant fire-raid was successfully repulsed and the militants were chased into the nearby mountains using aerial surveillance means.
“During an encircling operation launched to cut off fleeing terrorists, a heavy exchange of fire took place between terrorists and a security forces party,” the ISPR said.
“The operation, however, continues to track few fleeing terrorists into adjoining areas.”
Security personnel also seized a sizeable cache of arms and ammunition during the operation, according to the ISPR.
The development came hours after militants attacked a paramilitary Frontier Corps camp in Balochistan and killed two soldiers in an exchange of fire. The military said two militants were also killed in the fire exchange.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
The gas-rich Balochistan province at the border of Afghanistan and Iran has been a scene of low-level insurgency by Baloch nationalists for around two decades.
The separatists say they are fighting what they see as unfair exploitation of the province’s wealth by the federation. The Pakistani state denies it.
