Three paramilitary soldiers and five outlaws were killed Saturday in a gunfight in Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Baluchistan, officials said, reports AFP.

The shootout happened near the town of Dalbandin, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, after the soldiers raided a house, acting on a tip-off, they said.

“Three of our soldiers were killed and seven others were injured when criminals hiding in a house opened fire during a raid,” Frontier Corps chief officer Saleem Nawaz told AFP. “Up to five criminals died when soldiers retaliated and they have captured a body and a seriously wounded suspect,” Nawaz said.

Nawaz did not confirm reports that the outlaws had links to militant outfit Jund Allah or army of God based in the bordering areas of Iran. “We have also received some reports about it, but we cannot confirm (the militant connection) as investigations have just started,” he said.

Smugglers and suspected Taliban militants have been active in the border areas of Baluchistan which shares frontiers with Iran and Afghanistan.

The province has also been in the grip of a rebellion waged by ethnic Baluch tribes seeking more political rights and a greater share of profits from the region’s natural resources. Hundreds of people have died in violence in the province since the insurgency flared in late 2004.