The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for a bomb blast in Quetta that resulted in the death of an active-duty major of the Pakistani security forces on Saturday.
According to the initial reports, a magnetic IED blast targeting a vehicle on Saturday evening in Quetta killed Pakistan Army officer Major Anwar Kakar, who was affiliated with the ISPR cell of 12 Corps. He was the son of Haji Akbar Kakar and a native of Pishin, a Pashtun-majority district of Balochistan.
CCTV footage of the incident shows two motorcyclists attaching a magnetic explosive device to the vehicle, which detonated shortly afterward.
Major Anwar had served in the Pakistani military for over a decade and was reportedly involved in key operations against Baloch “pro-independence” armed groups across Balochistan.
In a brief statement issued later, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack. The group stated that the operation was conducted by its Special Tactical Operations Squad (STOS) based on intelligence provided by its internal wing, Zirab. The group said it would later publish a detailed report on the attack.
It is worth noting that Major Anwar was previously injured during the BLA’s 2019 “Zerpahazag” operation in Gwadar, in which four Majeed Brigade suicide attackers stormed the Pearl Continental (PC) Hotel and held it under siege for nearly 24 hours.