Islamabad, Jun 15 (IANS): Four soldiers of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) were killed in an improvised explosive device explosion in Pakistan's Balochistan province, an army statement said.

The blast took place in the provincial capital of Quetta on Monday, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement.

A large-scale area sanitisation operation by FC Balochistan to hunt the terrorists is underway, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

The ISPR said in the statement that "such cowardly acts by inimical elements cannot sabotage the hard-earned peace and prosperity in Balochistan".

"Security forces are determined to neutralize their nefarious designs even at the cost of blood and lives," it added.

Located along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Balochistan have faced serious security challenges from terrorists based within the province and across the border in the past.

A spike in terrorist activities in the province has been witnessed over the last few months with frequent attacks targeting security forces and civilians.