Gunmen kill 7 coastguards in Gwadar: Officials

Around 24 gunmen armed with rockets and heavy weapons attack check post.

QUETTA: Gunmen attacked a coastguard check post in Balochistan on Saturday, killing seven officials and wounding seven others, officials said.

The incident happened in the Suntsar area of Gwadar district, 1,420 kilometres southwest of Quetta.

"Around 24 gunmen armed with rockets and heavy weapons, attacked the checkpost and killed seven coastguard officials," provincial home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani told AFP.

He said at least seven coastguard officials were also injured in the early morning attack.

A local tribal police official Muhammad Ali also confirmed the attack and casualties and said the identity of the attackers was not immediately known.

Baluchistan suffers from both militancy and a regional insurgency which began in 2004, with rebels demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's natural resources.