6 Pakistani security personnel killed in Balochistan amid heightened tensions

Six Pakistani soldiers have been killed by militants in two separate incidents in the country's restive Balochistan province bordering Iran, officials said Monday. The first incident reported from the mountainous Panjgur district where four soldiers of the Frontier Corps (FC) were killed by militants on Sunday.

The attack took place hours after two FC personnel were gunned down in Loralai area near Iran border. FC Balochistan spokesperson Wasay Khan said the militants struck when guards were being changed at the check posts.

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Madad Khan has condemned the attacks and termed them as attempts to disrupt peace and progress in the province which shares its borders with Iran and Afghanistan. "It is a conspiracy against the Balochistan and development projects in the province," he said.

The attacks came days after the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Major General Muhammad Ali Jafari, asked Pakistan to crack down on a banned terror outfit which killed 27 soldiers at a town in Iran's southeastern region which borders Balochistan. Jafari in the past has accused Pakistan of harbouring militants and said Iran reserves the right to use force to punish the militants. Pakistan's Foreign Office has rejected the accusations.

(With inputs from agencies.)