QUETTA Two army men were killed and two others injured in an ambush in the main market of Khuzdar town on Saturday. The proscribed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.

DPO Khuzdar Nazir Kurd said that the injured personnel were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Quetta because of their serious condition.

The troops killed were identified as Mohammad Sharif and Asad Rasool and the injured as Samandar Khan and Shahid Mehmood.

The firing by attackers on a motorbike spread panic in the market, forcing shopkeepers to close their businesses.

“We are investigating the case,” Mr Kurd said, adding that a case had been registered against unidentified attackers.

A man claiming to be the spokesman for the BLA and identifying himself as Merak Baloch told journalists in a call that the banned organisation was behind the attack. He said three security personnel died in the attack.

Security was beefed up in and around Khuzdar town and a house-to-house search was carried out in various localities for the arrest of attackers.