Gunmen kill 9 police officers in southwest Pakistan

QUETTA, July 7: Gunmen killed nine police officers, and others are missing, following an attack on a checkpost at a dam project in Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Tuesday. 

"Nine policemen are dead and many are missing after an attack on a checkpost that was guarding the Mangi Dam project," Abdul Qudoos, a senior district official, told AFP. A spokesman for the provincial government confirmed the toll, saying senior officers from several police stations were among the dead and blaming the attack on Islamist militants. Paramilitary, police and counter-terrorism personnel had "successfully carried out the joint clearance operations" against the militants, Balochistan's government spokesman Shahid Rind said in a statement.�"AFP