Pakistani military forces reportedly suffered heavy casualties in multiple attacks by Baloch armed groups in different areas of Balochistan on Saturday.
According to reports, armed men ambushed a Pakistani army vehicle in the Sadim area of Zamuran, killing at least four Pakistani soldiers and destroying their vehicles.
Sources said that the armed men had also taken the weapons of the four dead soldiers. Soon after the attack, a large number of Pakistani security forces reached the spot and an operation has been launched in the area.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing for the Pakistani armed forces, confirmed the attack in a media statement. The ISPR said that four soldiers, identified as Naik Sher Ahmed, Lance Naik Muhammad Asghar, Sepoy Mohammad Irfan, and Sepoy Abdul Rasheed, were killed in the attack.
The ISPR said that “terrorists” operating from Iran have killed four of its border patrolling team in the Zamuran area of Balochistan. However, the Iranian embassy based in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad in a tweet condemned the attack on Pakistani forces and expressed sympathy with the deceased soldiers’ families.
The most active Baloch armed group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) took responsibility for multiple attacks on Pakistani forces including the aforementioned attack in a media statement. BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said that BLA fighters ambushed a patrolling vehicle of Pakistani forces in Zamuran, killing four Pakistani forces personnel and destroying their vehicle.
BLA also claimed responsibility for targeting Pakistani forces personnel deployed at the main entrance of Pakistani military headquarters in Panjgur. “An enemy personnel was killed in the hand grenade attack,” the statement read.
Similarly, BLA took credit for attacking a military camp of Pakistani forces with heavy weaponry in the Kolwah area of the Kech district on Friday night. “At least two enemy personnel were injured in this attack,” BLA spokesman added.
In the same press release, the group claimed to have carried out a grenade attack on Pakistani forces’ post at AlamDeen Chowk in the Dhadar area of Balochistan on Friday. It said that BLA fighters targeted a post of Pakistani military with a hand grenade bomb — “Enemy personnel present in the post were injured in the attack”, the statement read.
In a separate attack on Friday night, BLA claims that three Pakistani personnel were injured when BLA fighters targeted a base camp of the Pakistani military with heavy weaponry in the Albat area of Kharan.
Another Baloch armed group, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) also released a media statement on Saturday claiming responsibility for an attack on Pakistani forces in Turbat city. BLF spokesperson Mjr Gohram Baloch said that two Pakistani security personnel were killed when BLF attacked them with automatic heavy weapons in the Dannuk area of Turbat city.
The Baloch “pro-independence” groups warned that attacks on Pakistani forces and its institutions will further increase until the complete withdrawal of Pakistani troops from Balochistan.