Militants attack govt offices in Balochistan; 2 terrorists, teen dead

Heavily-armed militants attacked government offices and a bank in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province on Tuesday, killing a boy and wounding seven civilians, officials said.

The militants targeted local administration offices and the bank building in Mastung district in the restive province.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind, militants launched the armed attack and the security forces responded to it.

The paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC), Counter Terrorism Department and Levies personnel cordoned off the site and surrounded the terrorists.

Two terrorists were killed and three others injured in the exchange of fire between the security forces and the terrorists, Rind said on X.

 

He also said that a 16-year-old child was killed and seven people were injured in the firing by militants.

He said a full-scale operation is underway against the militants present in the area. Intelligence-based action is being taken to protect the citizens and arrest the terrorists, he said.

He alleged that militants were affiliated with a proxy group linked to India.

In the past, India has rejected such allegations and slammed Pakistan for attempting to blame it for attacks in the country.

Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has been in the grip of low-level violence for the last two decades. Ethnic Baloch groups involved in armed struggle accuse the federal government of exploiting the mineral wealth of the region.