15 Pakistani soldiers killed in wave of attacks by armed groups in Balochistan

Quetta: At least 15 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in a series of coordinated attacks across Balochistan over the past few weeks as three Baloch armed groups — the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) — have claimed responsibility for strikes in several regions across the province, including Kech, Panjgur, Turbat, Surab and Naseerabad, local media reported on Monday.

In a statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said that the BLF fighters attacked a Pakistani Army post in the Tejaban area of Kech district on December 23, using automatic weapons and grenade-launcher rounds, killing two soldiers and destroying surveillance cameras inside the post.

The BLA said in a second attack on December 25, it targetted a military vehicle with a remote-controlled explosive device on the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route in the Katgari area of Panjgur district, claiming the blast killed six Pakistani personnel and injured four others.

The spokesperson added that the group carried out another attack on Sunday by planting explosives, which destroyed a communication tower used by Pakistani forces in the Dank area of Turbat and damaged “active spy cameras” installed on the structure, The Balochistan Post reported.

Meanwhile, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) said that it launched a roadblock operation on the RCD Highway at Bathgu Cross in Balochistan’s Surab district on December 27.

According to the BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch, the group intercepted vehicles at the checkpoint when four Pakistani security vehicles escorting trucks linked to the Saindak mining project arrived, adding that the fighters “simultaneously targeted” the escort vehicles, killing five personnel and injuring several others. He further stated that the vehicles belonging to both the security convoy and the Saindak project sustained “heavy damage”.

Separately, the Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) claimed that fighters exchanged fire with a Pakistani forces’ convoy between Notal and Bakhtiarabad in Naseerabad district in the province on Saturday night.

BRG spokesperson Dostain Baloch said the clashes lasted for nearly an hour, resulting in the deaths of two Pakistani personnel and injured several others before fighters “withdrew safely to their hideouts”. The group affirmed to continue such attacks “until the freedom of Balochistan”.

IANS