Pakistan: Suicide attack at check post foiled; 2 female bombers shot dead

Quetta: Five militants armed with bombs and guns, including three women, attacked a security check post near the Pakistani city of Quetta on Tuesday and were killed in a firefight, officials said.

"All five attackers have been killed," Quetta police chief Daud Junejo told AFP.

The group attacked a check post in the city's Kharotabad neighbourhood, throwing explosive devices at the post and opening fire on the troops inside, he said.

"The troops retaliated and killed all of them," he said. "No security official was hurt, it's all ok, it's over now."

A security official in Quetta, capital of the south-western province of Balochistan, confirmed the attack said the militants threw hand grenades at the post.

A military official said all the attackers wore suicide vests. The women could be Chechen, he said, adding that an investigation had been ordered.

Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants have been blamed for bombings targeting civilian and government security targets across Pakistan that have killed more than 4,240 people.

Impoverished Balochistan is also wracked by an insurgency waged by ethnic Baloch tribes seeking greater autonomy from the federal government and a greater share of profits from the region's wealth of oil and gas resources.