By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-02-01 12:16:39 | Updated at 2025-02-01 15:59:11
3 hours ago
Eighteen paramilitary soldiers and 24 militants were killed in fighting in southwestern 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 Balochistan and most of the deaths had taken place as security forces removed them, the military said.
Eleven of the militants were killed in what the military described as “clearance operations” on Saturday.
A vehicle “carrying unarmed Frontier Corps paramilitaries” near the town of Mangochar “came under gunfire from 70 to 80 armed assailants who had blocked the road”, a police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The overnight attack killed 17 of the passengers and a paramilitary who came to their aid, he said, confirming reports from local sources.
Three other paramilitaries were seriously wounded and two escaped unharmed, he said.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
