Pakistan: An army captain was killed along with four other officers in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province on Sunday. According to a military statement, the explosion was targeted to damage troops engaged in an anti-militant operation in the Kohlu district of Balochistan province.

Three grenade attacks injured 14 civilians in separate incidents. Two grenade attacks injured 11 people in the provincial capital of Quetta, while a third attack in the industrial town of Hub wounded three civilians, senior police officer Zafar Maheser said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. Baluch separatist groups have long waged a low-level insurgency in the region.

Meanwhile, a soldier and a militant were killed near the border with Afghanistan according to the Pakistani military. A group of militants attempted to sneak into the country’s northwest, triggering a shootout, the Pakistani armed forces said.

The clash erupted in the Sambaza area of Zhob overnight, according to a military statement. Two other soldiers were also injured in the exchange of fire. It said the area had already been under surveillance for days after intelligence reports that militants were using the route to sneak into Pakistan to target civilians and security forces.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, ended a ceasefire last month and have attacked Pakistani security forces over the last month.

The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but allies with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan a year ago as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.

(With inputs from AP)

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