Nine policemen, at least two senior officials among them, have been killed, while some others have disappeared in an ambush carried out by gunmen in the Ziarat district of Pakistan’s southern Balochistan province, where the construction site of the Mangi Dam, which is worth billions of rupees, was located. 
Although the militant group behind the ambush remains unknown as yet, according to statements issued by the officials of Balochistan province, the “clearance operation” conducted by the security forces resulted in the deaths of 15 militants from the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). The killings have prompted demonstrations on a national highway close by, and the Interior Minister of Pakistan, Mohsin Naqvi, strongly condemning the incident, called the dead policemen national heroes. The province of Balochistan has been suffering from unrest since years due to separatist groups within the province as well as the growing tension in the region due to attacks from Afghanistan’s Taliban government.