ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani soldier was killed in an attack on a checkpoint in the southwestern Balochistan province near the border with Iran, the Pakistan army said on Tuesday.
Last month two Pakistani soldiers were killed near the Iran border in a similar attack in the Kech district of Balochistan.
Pakistan and Iran have repeatedly accused each other of allowing militants to cross their shared frontier and carry out attacks. Both deny state complicity.
“Group of terrorists, targeted a post of security forces along Pakistan-Iran border in Abdoi Sector, Balochistan,” the army said. “During heavy exchange of fire, Lance Naik Zaheer Ahmed r/o Nushki embraced martyrdom fighting valiantly.”
“The Post also inflicted losses onto the fleeing terrorists.”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack
Pakistan and Iran share a nearly 959-km long border that begins at the Koh-i-Malik Salih mountain and ends at Gwadar Bay in the Gulf of Oman. Pakistan is constructing a fence along the border which it expects to complete within a year.
Checkpoints near the border were established to prevent the movement of militants into urban areas, the army says.
“Pakistan's Security Forces remain determined to defeat such acts of inimical elements, aimed at disrupting peace, stability and progress of Balochistan,” the military statement said.