Pakistani troops, air force base attacked in separate incidents; 14 killed

An attack on Pakistani troops in Gwadar district killed 14 on Friday, the military said, in the latest violence in a region troubled by a decades-old insurgency and Islamist militants.

"Two vehicles of security forces moving from Pasni to Ormara in Gwadar District were ambushed by the terrorists," the Inter Services Public Relations agency (ISPR), the army's public relations wing, said in a statement without identifying the assailants, reports Reuters.

Ethnic Balochs have for years been fighting the government in Balochistan, a mineral-rich region that borders Afghanistan and Iran.

Islamist militants, who aim to overthrow the Pakistani government and install their own brand of strict Islamic law in the predominantly Muslim country of 220 million people, have also been active in Balochistan.

"Sanitisation operation is being carried out in the area and perpetrators of this heinous act will be hunted down & brought to justice," the army statement added, without mentioning the group behind the attack.

Meanwhile, six militants attacked an air force training base in the central Pakistani area of Mianwali on Saturday morning damaging three aircraft, the country's military said.

Three militants were killed before they entered the base and the other three had been cornered, the military said in a statement, adding that three grounded aircraft and a fuel tanker had been damaged thus far in the attack.

"Due to the swift and effective response by the troops, (the attack) has been foiled and thwarted, ensuring the safety and security of personnel and assets," the statement said.

The military said an operation is underway to clear the area, and did not mention any casualties amongst security personnel.

Islamist militant group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to journalists by its spokesperson.

TJP came to the fore only this year and little is known about the group, which has carried out a string of high-profile attacks in the country, including killing 12 soldiers at a Pakistani military base in the southwestern province of Balochistan in July.