ISLAMABAD, 2 February 2006 — Tribal militants fired rockets and mortars at a base for security forces in southwestern Pakistan yesterday, sparking a gunbattle with troops that killed three attackers and injured nine, an official said.
The fighting was in the town of Dera Bugti, where the attackers targeted the main base for paramilitary troops, said District Coordination Officer of Dera Bugti Abdul Samad Lasi.
No soldier was injured in the clash, and rockets fired by the assailants landed in fields near the base, Lasi said.
The troops are deployed in the area to guard Pakistan’s main gas fields, southeast of Quetta, capital of the southwestern Balochistan province.
The tribesmen are blamed for attacking gas installations and security forces to press demands for an increase in royalties for resources extracted in their territory.
Yesterday’s violence came a day after one soldier was killed and four others were injured when their truck hit a land mine. Lasi blamed the attack on tribesmen.
In the nearby town of Kohlu, assailants fired 27 rockets Monday night, targeting four security posts, said Lt. Col. Hassan Jamil, a spokesman for the Frontier Corps that man the posts.
No one was hurt and the rockets, which are often fired from crude launchers, missed their targets and landed in nearby fields, he said.
