ISLAMABAD: Four Pakistan army soldiers were killed and five got critically wounded in a terror attack on a military base in Zhob district of the restive Balochistan province on Wednesday.
Three of the attackers were also gunned down in the ensuing shootout, while a woman caught in the crossfire died, too.
A group called Tehreek-e Jihad Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.
Muhammad Azim Kakar, a top administration official of Zhob, said a group of about 20 gunmen dressed in army uniform launched an attack on the base.
The initial attempt by the terrorists to sneak into the facility was checked by the soldiers on duty, said a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing.
Following a heavy exchange of fire, the terrorists were contained to a small area at the boundary, the ISPR said, adding that three “heavily armed terrorists” had been killed.
“Security forces remain determined to thwart all such ghastly attempts at destroying peace in Balochistan and Pakistan,” the ISPR said.
Kakar said the woman civilian killed was travelling by a bus that was caught in the gunfight, and three other passengers were wounded.
Pakistan has seen a surge in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest and Balochistan in the southwest, after the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with Islamabad in November last year.
Earlier this month, four security personnel and a terrorist were killed after police and paramilitary force checkposts came under attack in Dhana Sar area of Balochistan’s Sherani subdistrict.
In May, there was another attack by Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan on a military compound in Muslim Bagh, another district of Balochistan, resulting in the killing of six militants and seven soldiers.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province that borders both Afghanistan and Iran, is sparsely populated but rich in natural resources such as copper, gold and gas. The province has been marred by instability and violence, and is regularly targeted by Islamist militants, sectarian groups and nationalist separatists.
Three of the attackers were also gunned down in the ensuing shootout, while a woman caught in the crossfire died, too.
A group called Tehreek-e Jihad Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.
Muhammad Azim Kakar, a top administration official of Zhob, said a group of about 20 gunmen dressed in army uniform launched an attack on the base.
The initial attempt by the terrorists to sneak into the facility was checked by the soldiers on duty, said a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing.
Following a heavy exchange of fire, the terrorists were contained to a small area at the boundary, the ISPR said, adding that three “heavily armed terrorists” had been killed.
“Security forces remain determined to thwart all such ghastly attempts at destroying peace in Balochistan and Pakistan,” the ISPR said.
Kakar said the woman civilian killed was travelling by a bus that was caught in the gunfight, and three other passengers were wounded.
Pakistan has seen a surge in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest and Balochistan in the southwest, after the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with Islamabad in November last year.
Earlier this month, four security personnel and a terrorist were killed after police and paramilitary force checkposts came under attack in Dhana Sar area of Balochistan’s Sherani subdistrict.
In May, there was another attack by Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan on a military compound in Muslim Bagh, another district of Balochistan, resulting in the killing of six militants and seven soldiers.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province that borders both Afghanistan and Iran, is sparsely populated but rich in natural resources such as copper, gold and gas. The province has been marred by instability and violence, and is regularly targeted by Islamist militants, sectarian groups and nationalist separatists.