21 Dec

The Pakistani army said in a statement that a soldier was killed in an exchange of firing with terrorists in the country's southwestern Balochistan province.

The army statement said on receipt of intelligence information regarding the presence of terrorists and their facilitators in Jatt Bazar near Awaran in Balochistan, security forces conducted a search and clearance operation.

Due to an intense exchange of fire with the terrorists during the operation, a soldier was injured and immediately evacuated to the southern port city of Karachi, the statement from the army's media wing the Inter-Services Public Relations said late Sunday.

However, the soldier was dead due to excessive bleeding, according to the statement.

The security forces have successfully cleared the entire area of Jatt Bazar. No group claimed involvement in the incident.

Baloch armed groups were usually blamed for such attacks on security forces.

xinhua