Six killed in Balochistan vote violence: Official

Gunmen open fire on troops near a polling station in the town of Soorab in Kalat district.

QUETTA: At least six people, including two paramilitary soldiers, were shot dead on Saturday in election-related violence in Balochistan during historic polls, an official said.

Gunmen opened fire on troops near a polling station in the town of Soorab in Kalat district.

Two soldiers from the Frontier Corps (FC) were killed and four wounded, senior government official Akbar Hussain Durrani told AFP.

"FC troops retaliated but the attackers fled on motorbike," he said.

In Chaman, a town on the Afghan border, four other people were killed and 10 wounded in a shootout between supporters of rival election candidates, Durrani said.

The clash took place between supporters of an independent candidate for the provincial assembly and activists from the Awami National Party (ANP), the main secular party for ethnic Pashtuns.

Voter turnout was low in the oil and gas rich province.

Voters were subject to strict body searches by police and an AFP reporter saw queues of dozens rather than hundreds of people outside Quetta polling stations.