<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">At least six militants were killed in an overnight gun battle with security forces in western Pakistan’s Balochistan province, an official said today.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Provincial government spokesman Jan Achakzai said “security forces successfully repulsed coordinated attacks” on at least three state facilities including a paramilitary headquarters and a police station.</div><div><br></div><div>“Six terrorists were eliminated” during the assault in central Bolan district, he told AFP. Medical rescue teams reported 13 civilians were wounded, with two in critical condition.</div><div><br></div><div>The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) – an armed separatist group – claimed responsibility for the attack.</div><div><br></div><div>Islamabad has for decades battled ethnic separatist factions in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but poorest province which is rich in natural resources.</div><div><br></div><div>Locals say they do not get their fair share of wealth from the oil and gas reserves, with the region consistently ranking at the bottom of Pakistan’s human development indicators.</div><div><br></div><div>Rights groups say a military crackdown on ethnic Baloch citizens includes enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.</div><div><br></div><div>Tensions over militancy in the region flared this month when Islamabad hit BLA fighters sheltering in neighbouring Iran, after Tehran targeted anti-Iran militants sheltering in Pakistan. -&nbsp; AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>