Islamabad : At least one security personnel was killed and two were injured as some unidentified militants attacked and briefly took control of a radar post in Pakistan’s Balochistan province Saturday night.
The troops, however, reclaimed the post after a fierce gun-battle, a senior provincial security official said.
The incident occurred when an estimated 20 to 25 armed men attacked a radar post, located a kilometre from the main airport of Pasni city, a fishing port in the province’s Gwadar district, Xinhua quoted PTV as saying.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The radar controls air traffic coming from European and Middle Eastern countries, and over 10 security personnel were deployed when it came under attack, the Civil Association Authority said.
Moazzam Jah, deputy Inspector General of Balochistan, said that the militants took control of the radar post for a short period of time. But the troops reclaimed the post after a fierce gun battle.
The attackers, he said, fled the sight after retaliation by security personnel and troops have kicked off a search operation in the neighbouring area to arrest them.
The militants, according to some local media reports, also kidnapped four personnel of Balochistan Constabulary while fleeing.
The militants were heavily armed and they hurled hand grenades at the radar and security personnel, said Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) at the attack site.
The radar and the building were partially destroyed in the attack, officials said.