The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) said on Saturday that its newly formed female unit, the Karima Armed Assault Division (KAAD), killed nine Pakistani military personnel in attacks in Turbat and Manguchar, while the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) claimed separate attacks on a gas company site and government buildings.
BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch said KAAD fighters killed six personnel in an ambush on a military convoy at Jusak near Turbat on September 22 and three others during a highway blockade and subsequent clashes in Manguchar, Kalat, on September 25.
The group had previously announced both operations, saying detailed statements would be released later.
According to the spokesperson, KAAD fighters ambushed a three-vehicle Quick Response Force (QRF) convoy on the CPEC highway in Jusak, killing six military personnel and wounding several others.
He said a gunner on the first armoured vehicle and a soldier in the second were killed, while four personnel in the third vehicle were killed in a subsequent exchange. The statement also claimed that military vehicles were severely damaged.
The BLF’s Qurban unit supported the operation, the spokesperson said, adding that fighters from both units repelled an attempt by Pakistani forces to encircle them and covered their withdrawal.
The group also confirmed that Qurban unit fighter Captain Chakar Murad, alias Dileep Jan, was killed during the engagement.
In Manguchar, the spokesperson said KAAD fighters established blockades at three points on the Quetta-Karachi highway, conducted snap checks and patrolled the area.
Pakistani forces approaching from Manguchar bazaar in an armoured vehicle and two other vehicles were attacked, he said, claiming that two military personnel were killed and the vehicles damaged.
Fighters identified by the BLF as members of its KAAD and Qurban units, which it said took part in attacks near Turbat and in Manguchar. [Aashob]
The statement said a further attempt to encircle the fighters from orchards alongside the highway led to another exchange, in which one more soldier was killed and several others wounded.
The casualty figures could not be independently verified.
At a third location, fighters stopped vehicles for checks for around 40 minutes and later withdrew despite mortar fire and quadcopter attacks, according to the BLF.
The BLF said KAAD was named after Karima Baloch and would take an active role in what it described as the “national liberation struggle”. It also said the unit sought to challenge “patriarchal domination and gender discrimination” in Baloch society and lay “the foundation for a modern and egalitarian society”.
Meanwhile, the BRA claimed responsibility for an attack on a Mari Energies Limited site in the Beh Loti area of Dera Bugti on Friday night.
The group’s spokesperson, Sarbaz Baloch, said fighters used rockets and heavy weapons to attack the site, claiming that three company employees were killed and several others injured.
He said the attack was followed by more than eight hours of fighting with Pakistani forces and members of what the group described as a local state-backed armed group.
Nine military personnel and three members of the armed group were killed, he claimed, while more than a dozen others were wounded.
The BRA also acknowledged that six of its fighters were killed.
Earlier, SP North Dera Bugti Sardar Muhammad Hashim had said one member of the armed group guarding the camp was killed and three others injured. Police sources separately claimed that five attackers were killed and three wounded during the clash.
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Sarbaz Baloch said the BRA had previously targeted Mari Energies, accusing the company of exploiting Balochistan’s resources and threatening further attacks on such companies and those associated with them.
Separately, the BRG claimed that its fighters took control of Haji Shehr and Eri Shehr on Saturday, targeting a police station and taking over government buildings.
In a statement, spokesperson Dostain Baloch said fighters established checkpoints at entry and exit routes to Haji Shehr and conducted snap checks, while another group seized the police station and destroyed it with explosives. He claimed police personnel fled the site.
The spokesperson said fighters also entered Eri Shehr and took control of government buildings there, adding that they withdrew after completing the operation.