Balochistan: Militants kill 4 soldiers, kidnap 4 others

QUETTA: Gunmen ambushed a Pakistani paramilitary checkpost on Friday, killing four soldiers and abducting four others in Balochistan, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but officials blamed the attack on Taliban in Shirani district, 350 kilometres east of Quetta, the capital of the province that borders Afghanistan and Iran.

"Militants attacked the post in the early hours. They first surrounded the post, then ambushed it. After killing four, they took four other soldiers with them," said a senior government official in Baluchistan.

Three other soldiers were wounded, the official added. An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media, confirmed the attack and blamed the Taliban.

Intelligence officials say a bomb hidden inside a radio exploded on a military base in northwest Pakistan, killing a paramilitary soldier and his 10-year-old son.

The officials say the soldier and his son were listening to the Asia Cup cricket final between Pakistan and Bangladesh on Thursday night when the bomb went off.

Three other children were wounded. Authorities are investigating how the bomb was planted in the radio.

The attack occurred at a base in Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal area, a key Pakistani Taliban stronghold. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity on Friday because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. (AFP)