Pakistan port attack kills two soldiers, eight militants, say officials

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Pakistani security forces on Wednesday repulsed a gun and bomb attack by militants on a complex outside the strategic port of Gwadar, which
killed all eight militants and two soldiers, officials said.China has invested heavily in the mineral-rich southwestern province of
Balochistan, including developing Gwadar, despite a decades-long separatist insurgency, Reuters reported.Armed with guns and bombs, the
militants stormed the complex just outside the port that houses offices of government departments, intelligence agencies and paramilitary
forces, said Saeed Ahmed Umrani, a government commissioner.The militants detonated a number of bombs before launching a shooting attack and
trying to storm the complex, he told Reuters.In a post on social media platform X, Provincial Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said eight
militants were &neutralised by security forces.& He added: &The message is loud - clear
Whosoever chooses to use violence will see no mercy from the state.&Two soldiers were also killed, said a Pakistan army statement, which
said the attack was successfully thwarted by the troops deployed at the facility, read the report.The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most
prominent of several separatist groups in Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the assault in a statement, saying its militants attacked
Pakistan intelligence agencies& offices.The BLA has previously been involved in attacks on Pakistani and Chinese interests in the region and
elsewhere, Reuters reported.The deep-water port is key to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that also encompasses roads and energy
projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping&s Belt and Road Initiative.Chinese targets have previously come under attack by several
Baloch militant groups in Pakistan, who say they have been fighting for decades for a larger share in the regional wealth of mines and
minerals denied by the central government in Islamabad.The post Pakistan port attack kills two soldiers, eight militants, say officials
first appeared on Ariana News.