QUETTA, MAY 19 –  Seven soldiers were martyred in two separate attacks in Balochistan late Monday night, the Pakistan Army’s media wing confirmed Tuesday morning.

Six soldiers, including a junior commissioned officer, were martyred in an IED attack in Mach’s Pir Ghalib. The deceased soldiers include Naib Subedar Ihsanullah Khan, Naik Zubair Khan, Naik Ijaz Ahmed, Naik Maula Bux, Naik Noor Muhammad and driver Abdul Jabbar.

In another incident, Sepoy Imdad Ali was martyred during an exchange of fire with terrorists near Kech’s Mand.

The soldiers will be laid to rest in their native hometowns.

On May 9, at least six soldiers, including an Army major, were martyred after a roadside bomb struck a vehicle of the Frontier Corps in Balochistan, close to the border with Iran. The attack was later claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army, a Baloch separatist group.

Balochistan, which shares its border with Pakistan’s neighbours Afghanistan and Iran, is the largest of the country’s four provinces with a population of roughly seven million.