Assailants ambush security forces in SW Pakistan, killing 5

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Assailants ambushed security forces patrolling a remote district in southwestern Pakistan, killing five of them before fleeing the scene, the military said Friday.

In a statement, it said troops also returned fire and a search operation was underway for the assailants near the scene in Sibi, a district in the insurgency-wracked Baluchistan province.

No one claimed responsibility. But militants and separatists often attack security workers in Baluchistan, which has for years been the scene of a low-level insurgency by small separatist groups who complain of discrimination and demand a fairer share of their province’s resources and wealth, such as natural gas and mines.

The Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic State group also have a presence there.