QUETTA, Nov 26: Security forces and tribal militants exchanged fire in Kohlu on Sunday while the house of a Pakistan Air Force officer in Quetta was attacked with a hand-grenade.

According to sources, armed militants used rockets and automatic weapons to attack security forces deployed in Tartani area of Kohlu district. The forces immediately took positions and returned fire. The exchange of fire continued for more than an hour, after which the militants disappeared, said the sources.

Later, security forces launched a search to trace the hideouts of the militants, they said.

A man calling himself spokesman of the banned Baloch Liberation Army phoned newspaper offices and claimed heavy casualties were inflicted on security forces. Official sources, however, denied the claim.

Meanwhile, a home-made hand-grenade was hurled at a private residence of a PAF officer in Quetta’s Samugali Housing Scheme on Sunday, police said.

The grenade exploded in the backyard of the house and there were no casualties.

However, window panes of the house were smashed.