FC search operation: 5 militants killed in Mastung gunfight

Paramilitary troops also rescue four kidnapped drivers.

QUETTA: At least five Baloch separatists were killed and six injured in a clash with the paramilitary Frontier Corps in Mastung district of Balochistan on Sunday. The deadly clash came a day after the paramilitary force claimed that it had killed four separatists in the neighbouring Kalat district.

An FC spokesperson said on Sunday that acting on a tip-off, paramilitary troops launched a massive search operation in the Kirdgap area of Mastung, about 40 kilometres away from Quetta. “A helicopter provided aerial support during the operation,” he added.

The FC troops engaged the separatist militants in an hours-long gunfight. “Five militants belonging to Baloch Republican Army were killed and six wounded in the clash,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, security forces have rescued four drivers of the oil tankers from the captivity of militants. “The drivers were kidnapped a few days ago from the Kirdgap area,” the spokesperson said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2015.