At least a dozen Pakistani soldiers and alleged state-backed militia members have been killed in a wave of roadside IED bombings, ambushes and raids across Balochistan, according to statements issued by Baloch “pro-independence” armed groups.
In a statement on Thursday, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the group’s fighters carried out four operations in Kalat, Mand and Bolan regions, including a highway blockade that lasted for several hours.
According to the group, fighters ambushed Pakistani soldiers on foot in the Shekhri area of Kalat on Wednesday as they approached a vehicle destroyed in an earlier attack, killing one and injuring two others. The BLA also claimed responsibility for a roadside bombing in Kalat’s Makai area on Monday which it said killed one Pakistani soldier and injured another.
The statement added that BLA fighters set up a blockade on the main highway in Bolan’s Bibi Nani area on Wednesday night, stopping vehicles for more than two hours. In Mand, Kech district, the group said its fighters seized a vehicle transporting rations for the Pakistani army, along with the supplies. It added that the driver remains in custody and under interrogation.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) said its fighters carried out multiple operations between 8 and 11 September, including attacks in Washuk, Kohlu, Kharan, Ornach and Jhao.
On Wednesday, BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch said group’s fighters ambushed Frontier Corps personnel escorting a military convoy on the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) road in Washuk’s Patk area, killing four. He said helicopters were deployed in response but the fighters withdrew without losses.
In another statement on Thursday, the group said seven alleged members of state-backed “death squads” were killed and one was captured alive along with weapons in raids across Kohlu, Kharan and Ornach.
In Kohlu’s Rase Zai area, BLF fighters surrounded the house of an alleged Military Intelligence operative, Usman Loharani, on 8 September. The group said he was killed after resisting an order to surrender his weapon. The BLF accused him and his sons of working with Pakistani forces and being involved in the enforced disappearance of Baloch activists.
On 10 September, the group said it killed three “death squad” members, including commander Jangi Khan, during an “intelligence-based raid” in Kharan, while a fourth gunman was shot by a sniper. Weapons and communication equipment were seized from the hideout.
The BLF said its fighters also captured Mir Ilahi Bakhsh Sumalani, an alleged militia operative, in Ornach bazaar on 11 September. It added that he remains in custody and is under interrogation.
On 9 September, the group said it blocked the Awaran–Bela highway for several hours and set fire to road construction machinery in Jhao, accusing the company of aiding military projects.
Both groups reiterated that they would continue targeting Pakistani forces and collaborators until the “liberation of Balochistan.” The BLF added that members of state-backed militias still had “room for forgiveness” if they abandoned their “anti-Baloch activities,” warning they would otherwise be “strongly targeted” across the region.
Pakistani authorities had not commented on the claims at the time of publication.