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- A Pakistani naval air base came under attack on Monday.
- One soldier died and five attackers were killed.
- The assault was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army.
Militants killed one soldier in an attempt to storm a major Pakistan naval air base in the country's turbulent southwest, the military said on Tuesday.
Security forces fought off the attempt and four militants were killed trying to enter the base in Turbat city on Monday night.
The attack comes days after security forces killed at least seven militants as they attempted to storm the offices of a Pakistan port considered a cornerstone of Chinese investment.
Pakistan has for decades battled a simmering insurgency in southwestern Balochistan province, where separatists hostile to Islamabad have often targeted foreign interests and police and military positions.
Monday's attack was "thwarted due to the swift and effective response by the troops ensuring the safety and security of personnel and assets", the military said in a statement on Tuesday.
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The assault was claimed by separatist group the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in a statement sent to media.
Ethnic Baloch separatists have long claimed their communities are not getting a fair share of wealth from the region, which sits atop huge reserves of natural resources.
They have frequently targeted Pakistani security forces protecting foreign investment projects.
In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated the security forces' "timely and effective" action that "averted a significant loss".
Reuters reported that Monday's attack on the Turbat base in southwestern Pakistan was the second assault by ethnic Baloch militants on a military facility in the past week.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's office said in a statement:
A Pakistan Navy spokesperson said all five attackers were killed after they tried to break into the base.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of several separatist groups in Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the assault in a statement.
The BLA has previously been involved in attacks on Pakistani and Chinese interests in the region and elsewhere.
China has invested heavily in the mineral-rich southwestern province of Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, including developing the port of Gwadar, despite a decades-long separatist insurgency.
The naval base is significant to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that also encompasses roads and energy projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative.
Pakistani security forces said last week they repulsed a gun and bomb attack by the BLA militants on a complex outside Gwadar, which in which two soldiers and all eight militants were killed.
