The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said on Monday it had killed 19 Pakistani soldiers during a July 10 operation in Zidi, Khuzdar, where it claimed to have taken control of the town for several hours. The group also confirmed that six of its fighters were killed.
BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said in a statement that the operation began at around 6am, when its fighters seized the local police station and several government buildings, taking weapons and ammunition before destroying the police station with explosives.
After taking control of the area, different units positioned themselves along the main highway and established blockades on routes leading into the town, the statement said, adding that a convoy led by a police deputy superintendent was ambushed near Sorgaz and forced to retreat.
Pakistani military reinforcements later arrived with armoured vehicles and air support from gunship helicopters, triggering clashes that lasted more than three hours, the BLA said.
The group claimed that more than 15 personnel were killed and dozens wounded during the fighting, adding that an armoured vehicle was destroyed and a helicopter damaged by heavy-weapons fire.
Later that evening, BLA fighters attacked another military convoy advancing along the highway, directly hitting a vehicle and killing four more personnel, the statement said.
The BLA confirmed that six of its fighters were killed during the operation, identifying them as Qudoos Qambrani alias Sikandar, Mohyuddin Kurd alias Mureed, Kurk, Saleh Muhammad alias Ghwaram Khan, Juma Khan alias Borjan and Faheem Ahmed alias Nazar Jan.
The group paid tribute to the fighters, saying their deaths would further strengthen its armed campaign for the establishment of an independent Balochistan.
The BLA described Zidi as a “strategic area” situated between two major Pakistani military cantonments, arguing that its ability to take control of the town had exposed what it called the military’s “hollow security claims”.
“Despite such a heavy military presence, security perimeters and aerial and ground networks, the Sarmachars not only took control of Zidi but also maintained their sovereignty there for several hours,” the statement said.
Jeeyand Baloch said the operation demonstrated that “no part of occupied Balochistan is out of the BLA’s reach anymore”.
“This battle is a clear and decisive message to the occupying Pakistani army that it should not consider itself safe even in the spaces between its major military bases,” he added.
Pakistani authorities did not immediately respond to the BLA’s claims.