QUETTA: One Frontier Corps (FC) personnel was killed and seven others were injured when armed militants opened fire on their vehicle in Dera Bugti, Balochistan's troubled district on Saturday.

Eight militants were also killed when security forces retaliated the attack, FC sources told Dawn.com

They said that armed militants opened an indiscriminate firing on security forces' vehicle in Loti area of Dera Bugti. Militants were hiding and opened fire on the FC vehicle from nearby mountains, they added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. However, FC sources said Baloch separatists could be behind the attack.

The information, however, could not be independently verified due to restricted access for journalists in the area.

In the meantime, Police foiled a major terror bid by defusing two bombs planted at railway track in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province on Saturday morning.

Razzaq Cheema, the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) told reporters that police with the support of masses defused two bombs, each five kilogram heavy at railway track on Sariab road Quetta.

Timely information on the part of masses saved Rawalpindi bound Jaffar Express from a catastrophe, Cheema said. “Citizens spotted a suspicious bag and then informed police,” the Quetta police chief said.

The passenger train was stopped after the recovery of explosives and the bomb disposal squad was called in the area to conduct sweeping of the track. The passenger train resumed its voyage after clearance of the track.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the incident. However, militants have been targeting railway tracks and passenger trains in Balochistan for last more than a decade.