14 people arrested after deaths of security staff

Karachi: Police in the troubled southwestern province of Balochistan arrested at least 14 people yesterday, including a leader of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), after tribal militants killed 10 security personnel in the provincial capital Quetta late on Thursday night.

Police said tribal militants opened fire on a van carrying the personnel near the city's railway station. They were returning to Quetta from various parts of the country following vacation.

Eight of those killed were army soldiers and the other two policemen.

The BLA, which is engaged in an often-violent struggle for more autonomy and a bigger share of natural resources for the Baloch, claimed responsibility for the attack, which came only hours after US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher stopped in Quetta during a trip to the region.

BLA spokesman Beeberg Baloch said the attack was launched to avenge the killings of innocent Baloch people in military operations including bombing raids.

"It was a retaliatory strike and such attacks will continue," he said.