QUETTA: Baloch insurgents on Monday claimed to have killed nine security personnel and injured 12 following clashes in Dera Bugti. Wadera Alam Khan, a spokesman for the Baloch insurgents, told reporters via satellite phone that violence had escalated on Monday after a brief break. "Nine security forces personnel were killed while 12 were seriously wounded," he said, adding that the clash had occurred at Daman in the north of Uchh gas field. "The assault was launched when security forces attacked the hideouts of Baloch fighters. Subsequently, both sides traded fire for many hours," he said.Khan said the militants had captured seven security forces vehicles. "Two helicopters assisted the security forces and bombed the area, destroying one of the vehicles that the Baloch fighters had taken," he said. "No fighter was killed or injured." A Balochistan government official called the militants' claims "absolute nonsense".