DERA BUGTI: Armed militants killed nine persons, including three women and two children, in an attack at the residence of a local tribal leader in Balochistan's Dera Bugti district on Tuesday morning, levies personnel said.

Abdul Samad, a levies official, told Dawn.com via telephone that armed militants stormed inside the house of the tribal elder and killed him and his family members. He said the deceased persons included three women and two children.

"The attackers managed to escape unhurt from the spot after the attack," Samad added.

He moreover said that two persons sustained injuries in the attack as a result of bullet firing.

Samad said the incident took place in the Loti Zain area of Dera Bugti.

The dead bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Dera Bugti for postmortem. Meanwhile, police and levies officials reached the site of attack and cordoned off the area as a search for the assailants went underway.

Another levies official, who requested not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Dawn.com that the house belonged to a pro-government tribesman.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. However, the officials suspect that Baloch separatists operating in the area launched the attack.