QUETTA: Six suspected militants were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in Awaran district of Balochistan on Friday, a security personnel also lost his life in the clash.

A security official told DawnNews that security forces conducted a raid in Mashkat area of Awaran district to apprehend the suspects, which led to the exchange of fire.

“Six militants and one security forces personnel was killed, two other soldiers were injured,” he said.

The official claimed that the suspects belonged to an outlawed organisation operating in the area and were involved in kidnapping, target killings and bomb blasts in the area.

FC detains eight suspects

Frontier Corps apprehended eight suspected militants from Lasbella district. The FC spokesman said “the suspects are being interrogated for their links with an outlawed organisation.”

Earlier in the day, Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti narrowly escaped an attempt on his life when his convoy was struck by a roadside bomb in Dera Bugti.

The provincial home minister was on an official visit to his hometown in Baker tehsil of Dera Bugti. However, no casualties were reported in the blast, officials said.

Related: Balochistan home minister escapes bomb attack on convoy

Security officials further said the bomb was remotely controlled and a search operation has been initiated in the area.

The bomb exploded moments after Bugti's vehicle crossed the site. One vehicle in the convoy was partially damaged as a result of the blast.

Spokesman of the outlawed Baloch Republican Army (BRA) telephoned a foreign media house and claimed the responsibility for attacking Sarfaraz Bugti's convoy.

Baloch separatists demanding more autonomy and control over gas and mineral resources have frequently targeted security forces and pro government figures for years in the area.