Several Pakistani soldiers killed by armed men at Iran border

Attackers from across the border with Iran have killed four Pakistani soldiers in southwestern Balochistan province, the army said.

The soldiers were part of a routine border patrol operating along the Pakistan-Iran border on Saturday when the armed men struck in the Jalgai sector of Kech district, the military said in a statement.

"A group of terrorists operating from Iranian side attacked a routine border patrol of Pakistani security forces operating along Pakistan-Iran Border," the army said in a statement.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The army said necessary contact was being established with Iranian officials for “effective action against terrorists” to prevent such incidents in the future.

It identified the casualties as Sher Ahmed, Muhammad Asghar, Muhammad Irfan and Abdur Rasheed.

Frequent attacks by Baluch nationalist groups

On Friday, a Pakistani soldier was killed in an exchange of fire with militants in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said. There was no immediate of responsibility for that attack, either.

In January, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the killing of four security officials along the border with Iran in Baluchistan. He said: “We expect Iran will ensure that its soil is not used for cross border attacks.”

Insurgent ethnic Baluch nationalist groups in the area say they are fighting for a greater share of regional resources. The Baluch groups operate on both side of the border.

The province is rich in minerals and also has the deep-water Gawadar port, which is being developed with Chinese money as part of Beijing's $65 billion "Belt and Road" investment in Pakistan.

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