At least six paramilitary soldiers were killed and two others injured when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the southwestern province of Balochistan, officials said Monday.

At least five paramilitary soldiers were killed and two others injured when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the southwestern province of Balochistan, officials said Monday.

The incident occurred in Marget area, around 30 kilometers (around 19 miles) east of the provincial capital Quetta.

"Six paramilitary soldiers embraced martyrdom and two others were injured when their vehicle passed over an IED (improvised explosive device)," a local security official told AFP.

A spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps confirmed the incident.
"One of the two injured is in critical condition," spokesman Manzoor Ahmed told AFP.

Thousands of paramilitary troops are deployed in troubled areas of the country to carry out security checks and to help police in maintaining law and order.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack, but Baloch separatists demanding greater autonomy have been waging an insurgency for years and the province is also riven by sectarian strife and extremist violence.