Three soldiers were killed and a terrorist gunned down when militants attacked a security post in the Zarghoon area of the restive Balochistan province on Saturday, the Pakistan military's media affairs wing has said.

In a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the terrorists attacked the check post that was recently set up to help check extortion efforts targeting coal mines in the area".

Security forces fired back in retaliation, In the encounter, three soldiers were killed and one terrorist was shot dead, it said.

The ISPR said a sanitisation and clearance operation had been launched in the mountains of Zarghoon.

ISPR Director General Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry recently said that at least 293 people were killed and 521 were injured in 436 terrorist attacks over the past year.

He had also said that overall 137 security personnel were killed and 117 injured in anti-terror operations in the ongoing year.

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