Heavily armed militants have killed nine soldiers while attempting to break into an army base in a mountainous area of southwest Pakistan, the country's military has said.
According to the Pakistan Army, “a group of terrorists” attacked the facility in the city of Zhob, in Balochistan Province, in the early hours of Wednesday.
The “initial attempt of terrorists to sneak into the facility was checked by soldiers on duty,” and five assailants were killed in the “ensuing heavy exchange of fire.”
Another firefight took place in Balochistan’s Sui area on Wednesday, in which two militants and three Pakistani security personnel were killed.
“Security forces are maintaining pressure and [a] clearance operation is underway to apprehend remaining terrorists as well,” the army said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned the attacks. “The ongoing war against terrorism is the war for the nation’s future,” he wrote on Twitter, expressing condolences to the victim’s families.
Interior Minister Rana Sanuallah praised the bravery of the troops, saying that soldiers had sacrificed their lives to prevent “a major catastrophe.”
Although the authorities did not name a specific organization, both Islamist and separatist groups are active in Balochistan.