Pakistan’s army says one soldier and at least six “armed militants” have been killed in an overnight operation in the country’s volatile southwestern Balochistan Province.
The operation was launched after the authorities received information that a group of insurgents were riding motorcycles from the Kech district to the neighboring Panjgur district, the military said in a statement on July 30.
Security forces cordoned off the area to apprehend the militants. However, once surrounded, the militants opened fire on the soldiers and the ensuing exchange with the military resulted in the death of six insurgents and one soldier. Another soldier was wounded in the clash in Kech's Husnab area, the military said.
Security forces also seized arms and ammunition, and a search and clearance operation was ongoing on July 30.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by the Balochistan Liberation Army and other separatist groups demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad since 2004.
