Pakistan: 6 security personnel killed in terror attack

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

At least six security personnel were killed in a terrorist attack on a checkpoint in southwestern Pakistan, official media said on Wednesday.

According to state-run Radio Pakistan, terrorists attacked a security checkpoint in the Sanjawi area of Ziarat, in the Balochistan province, and killed six Levies paramilitaries.

Soon after the incident, security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to apprehend the culprits.

On Jan. 29, terrorists stormed a paramilitary force compound in Loralai, Balochistan, killing 10 people, including nine police officers, and wounding 21. Four terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire with security forces.

Last November, a similar attack on the Chinese Consulate in the commercial capital Karachi killed seven people, including three militants of the separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army.

The large Balochistan province has been plagued by violence for over six decades, with separatists claiming it was forcibly incorporated into Pakistan at the end of British rule in 1947.

The province is also a key route of China's billion-dollar One Belt One Road Initiative. which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinjiang province to Balochistan’s Gwadar port through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines to transport cargo, oil and gas.