(Karachi) At least seven Frontier Corps soldiers were martyred after terrorists attacked a post in Balochistan's Harnai area, a statement by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated on Sunday.

The ISPR said that all the FC personnel embraced martyrdom during an exchange of fire with the militants. It added that weapons and arms and ammunition in huge quantity has been seized from the site.

The ISPR stated that the area has been cordoned off and escape routes have been blocked to apprehend fleeing miscreants. A large scale search and clearance operation is in progress, it said.

The ISPR said that such cowardly acts by inimical elements backed by anti state forces will not be allowed to sabotage hard earned peace and prosperity in Balochistan. Security forces are determined to thwart their nefarious designs at all costs, the statement said.

Earlier, at least four officers and soldiers were martyred after a Pakistan Army Aviation helicopter crashed due to technical reasons during casualty evacuation in Minimarg area of Gilgit Baltistan.

As per the ISPR, the helicopter was evacuating the body of a martyred soldier Sepoy Abdul Qadeer to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Skardu, when the incident occurred.

The martyred personnel were identified as Pilot Major M. Hussain, Co Pilot Major Ayaz Hussain, Naik Inzimam Alam and Sepoy Muhammad Farooq.