Pak: 23 Terrorists, 18 Soldiers Killed in Balochistan

The Baloch Liberation Army separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday

- Associated Press

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani troops fought separatist insurgents who set up roadblocks in the restive northwestern region of Balochistan, leaving 18 paramilitary security forces and 23 rebels dead in some of the heaviest clashes in recent years, officials said on Saturday.

The military said troops suffered casualties when they engaged the insurgents who erected barricades on a key highway in Kalat, bordering Afghanistan.

The security forces "successfully removed the roadblock" following the fighting overnight into Saturday morning, the military said in a statement.

It said 18 security personnel died during the operation and vowed that "the perpetrators, facilitators and abettors of this heinous and cowardly act, will be brought to justice." Security forces recovered the bodies of 12 insurgents, the military said.

Troops also killed another 11 insurgents in an operation that was still underway, it said.