By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
At least nine suspected separatists have been killed in a clash with security forces in the southwestern Baluchistan province on Monday, officials said.
The clash occurred in Qallat district during a search operation , which is still ongoing, said Khan Waseh, a spokesman for Frontier Corps (FC), a paramilitary force in Baluchistan to assist police.
The operation conducted on a tip regarding the presence of terrorists involved in last week's bus attack that killed 22 passengers near the state capital Quetta, he said.
Secular Baluch separatists have been fighting for decades for what they call the liberation of mineral-rich Baluchistan , which according to them, had been incorporated into Pakistan forcibly in 1947 following the end of British colonial rule in the subcontinent
