At least six Pakistani soldiers, including two commandos, were killed when armed men ambushed a military convoy in the Manguchar area of Kalat district, officials and local sources said on Friday.
Sources told The Balochistan Post that the convoy came under heavy sniper fire from fighters positioned in the surrounding hills, suggesting the attack was carried out by “skilled and well-trained” snipers.
Intense gunfire and explosions followed the initial ambush, they said, while all entry and exit routes to Manguchar were immediately sealed.
The slain personnel were identified as Naik Tariq, Sepoy Muzammil, Sepoy Faraz, Sepoy Azam Nawaz, and Special Services Group (SSG) commandos Shahjahan and Abshar.
Following the ambush, security officials said a search and clearance operation had been launched targeting suspected militant hideouts in the area.
Local residents said heavy exchanges of fire continued for several hours after the attack. They reported that clashes were taking place at multiple locations around Manguchar, while four gunship helicopters carried out aerial shelling on nearby hills to support ground troops.
Ambulances were later seen moving to and from the site as soldiers retrieved bodies and injured personnel.
“The bodies of several soldiers have been airlifted,” one resident said. “Some remain trapped in the surrounding mountain ravines.”
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Baloch “pro-independence” armed groups — particularly the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) — are known to operate in the region and have carried out similar assaults in the past.
Last week, the BLA claimed responsibility for a remote-controlled IED attack on a Pakistani military foot patrol in the Garaap area of Kalat, killing two soldiers and injuring another.
In a separate incident, the group said its fighters blocked the Quetta–Karachi highway near Manguchar for more than an hour and killed two soldiers in clashes that erupted when Pakistani troops attempted to advance toward the blockade.
Earlier in September, the BLA said four Pakistani soldiers were killed and three injured when a military truck was struck by a remote-controlled IED in Kalat’s Sheikhri area. The vehicle was destroyed in the blast.
The group has also carried out several large-scale operations in the Kalat region over the past year.
In November 2024, the BLA claimed responsibility for a large-scale operation on a Pakistani military camp in the Shah Mardan area of Johan, saying 29 soldiers were killed and more than ten injured.
In March 2025, BLA fighters briefly took control of Manguchar city, seizing government buildings, setting them ablaze and blocking the main highway before withdrawing several hours later.
In June 2025, the group said it attacked the Iskalko military camp in Kalat, claiming 11 Pakistani soldiers were killed and several others injured.