QUETTA: Two personnel of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) were martyred and six others injured in a gun battle with drug smugglers in Mashkeel, near the Pakistan-Iran border, on Friday.

A spokesman for the ANF said the anti-narcotics personnel were attacked by at least 50 armed smugglers while they were returning from the area after seizing drugs and ammunition.

“Two soldiers lost their lives and six others were injured in the gun battle. The clash lasted three hours,” he said.

The spokesman identified the dead ANF personnel as Muhammad Kamran and Ahmed Nawaz.

The injured soldiers were shifted to hospital.

The ANF and other security forces launched a search operation last week in Balochistan’s Washuk district, which includes Mashkeel the scene of the gun battle.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2020