Fifteen people were killed in clashes on Wednesday night between Pakistani security forces and Bugti tribesmen in Balochistan. âTwelve tribesmen were killed and three security men lost their lives, Abdul Samad Lasi, the regionâs police chief, said yesterday. The clashes between Bhambore Rifles, a wing of the Frontier Corps, and the tribesmen began after the authorities took over a building located in Sui gas field. The building belonged to the Pakistan Petroleum Limited but was leased out to Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti who renamed it âBugti Houseâ. The authorities initially detained 11 tribesmen and recovered from them huge quantities of arms and ammunition.On Wednesday evening, a vehicle of the Frontier Corps was hit by a land mine. Two security men were killed instantly and an undisclosed number of soldiers injured. Men of Bhambore Rifles later took control of the hills surrounding Dera Bugti. They were fired upon around midnight. The security men retaliated and killed at least 12 Bugti tribesmen. In the heavy exchange of fire, two security men were injured. They later died in a Frontier Corps hospital.
Early yesterday, a powerful explosion ruptured a section of a state-owned gas pipeline, briefly disrupting supplies, but injuring no one, police said. No group claimed responsibility for the attack in Kundkot. An area police chief, Mazhar Shahab, said engineers had started repair work. He blamed tribal militants for the attack, although he did not offer any evidence.