(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Turkey has condemned the killing of 20 laborers in the coastal Turbat district of Baluchistan in Pakistan.
"We believe the attack will not hold Pakistan back from fighting terrorism," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The ministry also reiterated support for Pakistan in its fight against terrorism.
Pakistani security forces have killed 13 suspected Baluch separatists in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, who were allegedly responsible for the killing of 20 laborers.
The deaths came during an early morning operation in the coastal Turbat district, according to Khan Wasey, a spokesman for the official paramilitary Frontier Corps.
Officials claimed the militants killed were involved in the killing of 20 laborers in the same district on Saturday.
Turbat is one of the footholds of Baluch separatist groups, including the Baluchistan Liberation Front, which claimed responsibility for Saturday's killings.
Baluch separatists have, for decades, been fighting for the resource-rich Baluchistan province's secession from Pakistan. They claim it was forcibly incorporated into Pakistan following the end of British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent in 1947.
The greater Baluchistan area is split between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.
Turkey condemns Egypt attack
Turkey also condemned the police station bombing in Egypt's North Sinai province, which killed six people, including five policemen, on Sunday.
Releasing a statement on Monday, Turkey's Foreign Ministry condemned the bombing, offered condolences to the victims' families and wished a fast recovery to the injured.
"Turkey will maintain its solidarity with the Egyptian people," the statement added.
The bombing left five policemen and one civilian dead and many other policemen and civilians injured, said the ministry, giving no specific number of the injured.
However, medical and security sources told The Anadolu Agency earlier that the explosion had left 41 people wounded, including 20 policemen.
Welayet Sinai (Province of Sinai), a local militant group that had sworn allegiance to Daesh, had immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter.
For almost two years, Egyptian authorities have been cracking down on militants in the Sinai Peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the Gaza Strip.
The campaign comes amid a spike in militant attacks on security personnel since the 2013 ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi by the army.
On Monday, six Egyptian troops were killed and three others were injured in a bomb blast in North Sinai's Sheikh Zuweid city.
The attack was also claimed by Welayet Sinai, formerly known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis.
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