Five Pakistani Soldiers Killed In Balochistan Ambush

Security personnel of Pakistan's Frontier Corps stand on an armoured vehicle near a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Balochistan Province.

The Pakistani military says five members of the paramilitary Frontier Corps have been killed in an ambush in the volatile southwestern province of Balochistan.

Unidentified gunmen carried out the attack in Sangan area on June 24 when the security forces were on routine patrol, the army's media wing said.

Four Frontier Corps members were killed immediately, while another died in hospital.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility.

There has been a surge in assaults on Pakistani security forces in Balochistan in recent months.

The resource-rich province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has been plagued by sectarian violence, attacks by Islamist militants, and a separatist insurgency that has caused thousands of casualties since 2004.

On June 1, the military said suspected militants raided a security post and targeted a vehicle carrying troops in separate attacks in Balochistan, resulting in the deaths of at least four soldiers and four militants.