2 soldiers, 5 militants killed in southwest Pakistan during attack on security post

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A group of militants attacked a security post in southwest Pakistan, triggering an intense shootout in which two soldiers and five insurgents were killed, military and local officials said on Tuesday.

The overnight attack happened in Qila Abdullah, a district in Balochistan province, the military said in a statement. It said the attempt by insurgents to enter the post was foiled, and the attackers then rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a perimeter wall.

The military said that the troops responded bravely and killed the attackers, who the military referred to as “khwarij,” a phrase which the government uses for Pakistani Taliban. Two suicide bombers were also among the five attackers, it said.

In separate statements, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to the “martyred soldiers” and praised security forces for repelling the attack.

No group claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban and an outlawed Baloch separatist group, which often attacks security forces in Balochistan and elsewhere in the country.

The gas-rich Baluchistan province has also been the scene of a low-level insurgency by small separatist groups for more than two decades. They initially wanted a share of provincial resources, but later they launched an insurgency for independence. Pakistani Taliban also have a strong presence in the province.