Several Pakistani military personnel were killed in two attacks in Balochistan’s Surab district on Friday, including a second assault on a team sent to retrieve bodies from the first attack, local sources said.
The attacks came a day after separate incidents in Kalat and Chagai, where a bridge was damaged in an explosion, a Pakistani military convoy was reportedly ambushed, three commercial vehicles were seized and another bridge was destroyed.
No group had claimed responsibility for any of the incidents at the time of publication.
Local sources said armed fighters attacked Pakistani forces at Tobo Cross in the Gidar area of Surab, killing several personnel and destroying a vehicle.
The sources said the bodies of those killed remained at the site after the attack, adding that a second team came under another armed attack at Rodeni Cross while moving towards the area to retrieve them.
Pakistani forces reportedly suffered further casualties in the second attack, although the number of personnel killed or injured could not immediately be established.
Pakistani authorities had not issued an official statement on the Surab attacks.
THE PREVIOUS DAY
Reports said a Pakistani military convoy was targeted in an explosion in the Marjan area of Kalat on Thursday morning and then ambushed by armed fighters.
The forces reportedly suffered casualties in the blast and subsequent gunfire, but no toll was provided. A bridge at the site was also damaged in the explosion.
Authorities had not provided further details about the incident or the reported losses.
Meanwhile, armed fighters established a blockade on a trade route in the Chehater area of Chagai and seized three commercial vehicles, local sources said.
The fighters also destroyed a bridge on the same route using explosives, the sources added. No casualties were reported.
Although it had not claimed any of the latest incidents, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for a series of similar attacks against Pakistani forces, commercial vehicles and transport routes in recent weeks.
A review of the group’s statements shows that it claimed 147 attacks during August, including 70 that directly targeted Pakistani forces and 35 involving explosives.
The BLA also said it targeted 60 vehicles and established blockades at 32 locations during the month as part of what it calls its “economic blockade.” The blockades included locations along the Quetta-Taftan and Quetta-Karachi routes.