18 Pakistani soldiers killed in fighting with separatist rebels in Baluchistan

This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani troops fought insurgents who set up roadblocks in the restive northwestern region, leaving 18 paramilitary security forces and 12 rebels dead in some of the heaviest clashes in recent years, officials said Saturday.

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

The Baloch National Army separatist group claimed responsibility for attack.

The BLA often targets security forces, civilians and foreigners, especially Chinese working on multibillion dollar projects in Pakistan. In November, a BLA suicide bomber detonated at a train station in the southwestern city of Quetta, killing 26 people, including soldiers and railway staff.

Since then, the military and police have stepped up operations against the insurgents in the oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan, which is a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.

Balochistan has for years been the scene of a long-running insurgency, with several separatist groups staging attacks, targeting mainly security forces in their quest for independence. The province also has an array of militant groups that are active there.