Unidentified armed men attacked a house with grenades and gunfire in Hothabad in Kech district overnight on Tuesday, killing several goats, local sources said, while a military operation was reported in the area on Wednesday.
The assailants threw two hand grenades at the house and subsequently opened fire, the sources said. No human casualties were reported, but livestock kept at the property were killed.
The sources alleged that the attackers belonged to a government-backed armed group locally referred to as a “death squad”. The allegation could not be independently verified.
Baloch political parties and rights groups use the term “death squads” for armed groups they accuse of operating with state backing and targeting political activists and suspected supporters of the Baloch independence movement.
Pakistani military and intelligence agencies have previously denied sponsoring such groups.
Separately, sources said a military operation had been under way in Hothabad since Wednesday morning, with a large number of Pakistani military personnel seen moving through the area.
The incident came days after a house in the nearby Hairabad area was targeted in a bomb attack. No human casualties were reported in that incident.