"Security forces destroyed seven fugitives' camps and killed up to 23 miscreants in a search operation launched since Saturday in Bhambore, Sangseela, Ghori and Surang areas," a security official told AFP.

Fifteen rebels were injured while 40 surrendered, the official added on condition of anonymity. There were no casualties among security forces, he added.

Some 25 rebels were killed on Wednesday by security forces in a similar operation in the Sangseela mountains of troubled Dera Bugti district.

Mineral-rich but sparsely populated Baluchistan has witnessed near-daily attacks on security forces and government installations since an insurgency erupted in early 2005 that has since claimed hundreds of lives.

The attacks have been blamed on tribal rebels who are demanding more political rights and a greater share of profits from the region's natural resources.

Meanwhile, suspected tribal rebels attacked a paramilitary checkpost in Pakistan's restive southwestern Baluchistan province, killing a soldier and wounding two others, officials said.

The assailants attacked the post with rockets and assault rifles in Sui town, some 420 kilometers (262 miles) south of the provincial capital Quetta, a security official said.

In an another incident in the area, rebels blew up three power pylons, suspending electricity supply to the towns of Dera Bugti and Sui, where Pakistan has its main gas installations, government official Gibrial Khan said.