Five killed in mine attack in Pak's Baluchistan

Two Pakistani soldiers were among five people killed in a attack by suspected militants in the coal mining area of troubled Balochistan province, officials said on Friday.

The incident happened in Balochistan's Harnai area on Thursday night when armed men stormed a coal mine and indiscriminately opened fired, killing two miners, Deputy Commissioner Azeem Dummar said.

Dummar said after receiving information about the attack, personnel of the Frontier Corps rushed to the area but their vehicle was hit by a landmine explosion, killing two soldiers and the driver. Another soldier was wounded in the explosion, he said.

The Baluch Liberation Army (BLA), an outlawed armed separatist group based in the province, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"We want to make it clear to the local spies and death squad groups of Pakistan Army that they will not be forgiven for their crimes," Jeehand Baloch, a BLA spokesperson, said in a email statement.

The separatist groups regularly target workers from other provinces and security forces and installations in the province.