ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani army said on Saturday that security forces killed six militants from the separatist Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) in southwestern Balochistan province.
In a statement, the military said the militants were killed in a shootout during a clearance operation in the Nagao mountains in Sibi district, where a bomb attack on a Frontier Corps vehicle left four paramilitary troops dead last week.
One soldier was also killed and two others wounded in the heavy exchange of fire. Troops have recovered weapons and ammunition from the militants.
"These terrorists were involved in recent security incidents in Sibi and surroundings and were also linked to 20 January blast in Anarkali, Lahore," the military said, referring to the attack in which three people were killed and 28 others injured at Lahore's famous Anarkali bazaar, a crowded neighborhood comprising small shops packed into narrow streets.
Balochistan has witnessed a low-intensity insurgency by separatist groups for decades, with the government launching military operations as well as targeted interventions to quell it.
