Three soldiers killed after armed men attack check-post in Pakistan

KARACHI: Unidentified armed men opened fire on a security check-post in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, killing at least three paramilitary soldiers, an official said.

The attack took place on Sunday in the Marat area of the Bolan district.

A top government official said, unidentified armed men had attacked the check-post in the calming area of Marat late Sunday which is some 70 kilometers from Quetta.

"During the attack three Frontier Corps soldiers were killed and one injured. Although the soldiers at the check-post returned the fire but the attackers managed to escape in darkness," the official said.

The soldiers then cordoned off the area after the incident and launched a search operation in the nearby mountainous areas.

However, no arrest has been made till now.

The bodies and the injured soldier were brought to a hospital. The attack on the soldiers comes just four days after militants from across the border in Afghanistan opened fire and killed four soldiers in the border area in Zhob district in the province.

Balochistan has been battling an insurgency for more than a decade by separatists demanding complete autonomy or a larger share of the province's gas and mineral resources.