At least eight Pakistani military personnel were killed and several others wounded in a series of attacks carried out by Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) fighters across multiple districts of Balochistan between April 8 and April 12, the group’s spokesperson said.
In a statement, BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch said the operations targeted Pakistani military forces, Frontier Corps personnel and police posts in Awaran, Dasht, Quetta and Chagai, while communication infrastructure was also attacked in Barkhan, Jhao and Mashkay.
He said fighters ambushed a convoy of eight military vehicles in the Ahori area of Awaran, targeting the front and rear vehicles with rocket launchers and automatic weapons to restrict movement.
“In this coordinated attack, 3 enemy vehicles were destroyed, resulting in 5 military personnel killed on the spot and 4 seriously wounded,” the statement said.
In another operation, BLF fighters targeted a Frontier Corps bomb disposal team at Kunchati Cross in Dasht using a remote-controlled improvised explosive device, which the group said destroyed the vehicle and killed three personnel on board.
The statement also said that in Quetta’s Shadeni area, the group’s “urban guerrilla unit” detained three plainclothes police personnel whom it accused of extortion, confiscating their weapons and vehicle before releasing them.
In Chagai, the group said its fighters attacked and took control of police posts in the Aminabad and Karoduk areas, seizing official weapons and equipment before withdrawing.
The BLF said it had also attacked mobile communication towers in Barkhan, Jhao and Mashkay, setting fire to machinery and control rooms.
The group said the towers were being used for surveillance and monitoring, adding that the attacks were aimed at disrupting the state’s communication network.
Major Gwahram Baloch said the operations demonstrated the group’s ability to “strike anywhere, at any time” and warned that fighters were monitoring movements across highways and urban areas.
Meanwhile, another Baloch nationalist armed group, the Baloch Republican Guards (BRG), said its fighters destroyed surveillance cameras installed by Pakistani forces in the Sanni area of Kachhi district on April 13.
“Our organization, BRG, claims responsibility for this attack, and such operations will continue until the freedom of Balochistan is achieved,” BRG spokesperson Dostain Baloch said.
Pakistani authorities did not immediately comment on the claims.