AFP, Islamabad

Pakistan’s security forces have killed almost 200 separatist insurgents in southwestern Balochistan province since they launched a wave of attacks over the weekend, a security official said yesterday, taking the overall death toll past 250.

Fighting has continued between government forces and the militants following the coordinated attacks, with sporadic clashes still taking place in some districts after gunmen stormed banks, jails, police stations and military installations.

Pakistan has been battling a Baloch separatist insurgency for decades, with frequent armed attacks on security forces, foreign nationals and non-local Pakistanis in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

A senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP yesterday that “197 terrorists have been killed in the ongoing counter-terrorism operations”. He added that at least 36 civilians and 22 security personnel were killed during the coordinated attacks in restive Balochistan.