The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an armed group, said on Thursday that its fighters killed 13 Pakistani soldiers in two separate attacks in Panjgur and the Zehri area of Khuzdar.
In a statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said fighters targeted a Pakistani military vehicle with a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) in the Katgari area of Panjgur on Wednesday. The group claimed four personnel were killed and two injured, adding that the vehicle was “severely damaged” in the blast.
In a separate attack, the BLA said its fighters carried out an “intensive ambush” on a Pakistani army convoy in the Bulbul area of Zehri on 16 December.
According to the statement, fighters first struck one of the convoy’s vehicles with a remote-controlled IED, after which they engaged troops attempting to advance into Bulbul and surrounding areas. The group claimed nine soldiers were killed and more than five injured.
The BLA said its fighters seized a large quantity of weapons, ammunition and military vehicles during the operation.
The group later released a video on its media channel, Hakkal, showing what appeared to be rifles, ammunition boxes and other equipment.
The group accused Pakistani forces of intensifying operations against civilians in and around Zehri after the clashes, alleging house raids, harassment and what it described as “collective punishment”, and claiming civilians were being used as “human shields”.
The allegations could not be independently verified due to restricted access to the affected areas.
“Every act of atrocity, oppression and aggression inflicted on the Baloch people will be held accountable,” the BLA added, calling the military an “occupying army” and saying state violence would not weaken what it described as Baloch “national resistance”.
Pakistani authorities had not issued any statement responding to the BLA’s claims at the time of publication.