Baloch nationalist groups today stepped up attacks on security personnel involved in relief operations in Pakistan's quake-hit Balochistan province, killing at least two soldiers.
Rescue and relief operations in the worst affected district of Awaran suffered a setback when two soldiers were killed and four more injured by a landmine planted on the side of a road.
Pakistani military officials told PTI that a vehicle carrying security forces and relief materials was targeted by militants in Mashkay area of Awaran.
After the blast, four more attacks were carried out in the quake-hit region, including an incident in the evening when rockets were fired at security personnel involved in relief operations, a military official said.
Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch condemned the blast that killed two soldiers.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit the province on September 24 caused widespread devastation in Awaran. Over 500 people were killed and thousands made homeless by the temblor.
Security personnel were attacked earlier too while carrying out relief operations in the quake-hit areas, a stronghold of Balochistan nationalist militants.
On September 30, the Chief Minister's convoy was attacked with rockets in Awaran as he was on his way to a camp office set up to monitor relief efforts. Malik and others accompanying him escaped unhurt.
On September 27, militants fired at a helicopter ferrying relief goods to Mashkay. A helicopter carrying National Disaster Management Authority chief Maj Gen Muhammad Saeed Aleem was targeted with rockets on September 26.
Security officials said most of the Awaran district are high risk areas for relief operations.
