The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Quetta

Suspected tribal insurgents ambushed a security forces patrol in southwest Pakistan, and three troops and 15 militants were killed in the fighting, an official said Sunday.

Maj. Gen. Salim Nawaz said three troops were killed in the attack in the Toba Mandrani area near the gas producing town of Sui. Security forces retaliated, killing 15 insurgents, some near the scene of the ambush and others in subsequent clashes and search operations in nearby areas, he said. Five other troops were wounded in the clash late Saturday, Salim said. Authorities blame attacks on security forces and gas wells and gas pipelines around Sui on rebel tribesmen been waging a violent campaign to force the central government to increase royalties for resources extracted from the area.

The insurgency in the southwestern Baluchistan province, of which Quetta is the capital, is rooted in long-standing grievances by ethnic-Baluch leaders.

The Baluchistan unrest is separate from the Islamic militancy Pakistan is facing along its northwestern frontier with Afghanistan.

Sui, where key gas wells are located, is about 180 miles southeast of Quetta.