Pakistani security forces kill 6 insurgents in a raid in the southwest

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces have killed at least six insurgents in a raid on their hideout in the country’s restive southwest, officials said Wednesday.

The raid targeted members of the Baloch Liberation Army in Harnai, a district in Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan. It wasn’t immediately clear when the raid took place.

Balochistan has for years been the scene of a long-running insurgency, with several separatist groups staging attacks that target mainly security forces in their quest for independence. The province also has an array of militant groups that are active there.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised security forces for the raid. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army killed dozens of civilians and security forces in attacks across the province in August.

On Sunday, gunmen stormed a camp of construction workers in the province’s Musa Khel district, torching bulldozers and other machinery. Initially, police said the attackers kidnapped 20 laborers but later it turned out they were unharmed and had fled the scene to escape the assailants.