18 Paramilitary Soldiers Killed by Militants in South-West Pakistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Eighteen paramilitary soldiers and 12 militants were killed in fighting in south-western Pakistan, the military's media wing said in a statement on Saturday.
The militants had tried to set up roadblocks overnight in the restive province of Baluchistan and the deaths had taken place as security forces removed them, the military said, Reuters reported.
It was not immediately clear which group the militants belonged to.
The mineral-rich province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the scene of a decade-old insurgency by separatist ethnic Baloch groups and extremist militants also operate there.
On Tuesday, in a separate incident, Extremist militants in an explosive-laden vehicle were thwarted in their attempt to overrun a Pakistani security post near the border with Afghanistan.
In August, at least 73 people were killed in Baluchistan when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways and security forces launched retaliatory operations.
