5 Pakistan soldiers killed in IED blast in Balochistan

In a statement, the Pakistan Army said during an intelligence-based clearance operation, which has been underway since December 24, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near a "leading party" in Kohlu district's Kahan area.

The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the militant Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group, Dawn reported.

Earlier in the day, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said a terrorist was killed and a soldier martyred during an exchange of fire between militants and security forces in an intelligence-based operation in the Sambaza area of Balochistan’s Zhob district.

According to a statement issued by the ISPR on Sunday morning, the operation, launched on the basis of “credible information”, was continuing for the last 96 hours.

As a result of the continuous surveillance and sanitation of the area, a group of terrorists was intercepted in the early hours of Sunday, the ISPR said, adding that “during the establishment of blocking positions to deny the terrorists escape routes, the militants opened fire on the security forces”.

In the ensuing exchange of fire, a terrorist was killed while one military force was killed. Two soldiers sustained were injured in the gunfight, the ISPR statement said.

In a separate incident, unidentified men threw a grenade at a police checkpoint in Quetta's Satellite Town, injuring eight people, including three police officers and five citizens, the report said.

Hours before this incident, a grenade blast in Quetta left four people injured.

MNA