The Baloch Liberation Army on Friday claimed responsibility for 18 attacks across Balochistan between 4 and 14 May, saying 31 Pakistani personnel, including a major-rank officer, were killed in IED blasts, ambushes, highway blockades and assaults on military installations.
In a statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the group’s fighters carried out seven IED attacks during the period, while also taking temporary control of major highways in several areas and targeting vehicles linked to mining and infrastructure projects.
The group said the attacks took place in Zamuran, Noshki, Mastung, Kalat, Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur, Dalbandin and Chamalang, adding that seven members of “state-backed’ armed groups and alleged Military Intelligence operatives were also killed.
The BLA said one of the major attacks took place in Chamalang, where its fighters targeted a Pakistani army convoy in the Bala Dak area on 13 May based on “precise intelligence” provided by “ZIRAB”, the group’s intelligence wing.
The statement said one vehicle was first blown up with a remote-controlled explosive device, followed by a “heavy armed assault” on a second vehicle, adding that eight Pakistani army personnel, including Major Tauseef Bhatti, were killed in the Chamalang attack.
In Mastung’s Sheikh Wasil area, the BLA said its fighters targeted a convoy of 20 large vehicles on the Quetta-Taftan Highway, along with its security detail. It claimed eight mineral-carrying vehicles were disabled and six soldiers were killed.
The group also claimed that its fighters blockaded parts of the Quetta-Taftan Highway between Lag Aap and Khazangi in Dalbandin for more than two hours, saying three men linked to the “Siah Dik” project were detained and a vehicle belonging to the Reko Diq project was seized.
In Noshki, the BLA said its fighters held blockades and conducted snap-checking at Sar Mal and Jorkain for several hours. It claimed that army vehicles attempting to advance towards Sar Mal were attacked, destroying one vehicle and killing three soldiers.
The statement said another major operation took place in Dringarh, Mastung, on 14 May, where BLA fighters took control of the area, seized the local police station and other government buildings, and took weapons and ammunition.
The group said its fighters also controlled the Quetta-Taftan Highway in the Kardegap area of Mastung for several hours, conducting snap-checking before withdrawing.
Other attacks claimed by the BLA included an IED attack on a ration vehicle in Zamuran, the destruction of a Levies checkpoint in Noshki, a sniper attack in Ispelinji, an IED attack near Ornach on the RCD Highway, an ambush in Maro, and attacks in Chappar, Balangor, Gorkadan, Faqeer Colony.
In Panjgur, the group said two men it described as members of a “state-backed” armed group were killed on the CPEC route. It identified them as Shahab, son of Nazir, and Nabeel, son of Jamil.
The statement also referred to three men allegedly detained by the BLA from the Dasht area of Mastung on 25 April, identifying them as Majid Badini, Ali Ahmed and Sunil Iqbal. The group accused them of working for Military Intelligence and said tracking devices were recovered from them at the time of their detention.
The BLA claimed that Ali Ahmed was later sentenced to death by what it called the “Baloch National Court” after allegedly confessing to working with the Pakistani military, monitoring the movement of fighters, facilitating raids on homes and involvement in enforced disappearances.
The BLA also named five of its fighters who it said were killed in recent clashes, identifying them as Ali Jan alias Sudais, Ahsanullah alias Master Maran, Nasrullah alias Mama Zagreen, Tanveer Mengal alias Murad Khan and Sadullah alias Wajid.
The group said Ali Jan was killed in the Eri Kalag area of Raskoh in Kharan on 4 May, while Ahsanullah and Nasrullah were killed during clashes in Chappar, Kalat, on 10 May. It said Tanveer Mengal and Sadullah were killed in clashes with Pakistani forces in the Sohinda area of Zehri on 15 April.
Paying tribute to its fighters, the BLA said it remembered their sacrifices with “national pride”, adding that the “light of freedom lit by their blood” would serve as a guide for future generations.
“Their flowing blood is a testament to the fact that as long as even one son of the Baloch soil is alive, the occupying state and its exploitative projects will never find permanence,” the statement said.
Pakistani authorities have not issued a statement on the BLA’s latest claims.