13 killed as Kalat check-post comes under attack

QUETTA (Pajhwok): Seven security personnel were killed and 18 others wounded in a pre-dawn attack on a check-post in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province.

Security forces also shot dead six attackers and wounded four others in retaliatory gunfire near the Shah Mardan area of Kalat Division.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed the fierce gun-battle, saying seven troops and six attackers were killed.

Four assailants and 18 security personnel were injured in the intense exchange of fire, the military’s media wing said.

The attackers used rockets, hand grenades and heavy automatic weapons before storming the check-post of the Frontier Corps.

Meanwhile, Dawn quoted Kalat Commissioner Naeem Bazai as saying the injured and bodies were evacuated to a military hospital in Quetta.

The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack, after which l a search operation was initiated in the area.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the attack, saying: “The elements spreading chaos and unrest in Balochistan are enemies of the people and the province’s development.”

He ordered the authorities concerned to take immediate action against the culprits and ensure they were given exemplary punishment.

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