Pakistani forces were carrying out military operations involving gunship helicopters, armoured vehicles, quadcopters and artillery across several areas of Balochistan on Friday, while armed attacks on military personnel and convoys were reported in Kech, Mastung and Kalat, local sources said.
Operations and Clashes in Kech
An operation began in Nasirabad, near Turbat, on Friday morning, extending into residential areas and surrounding woodland, local sources said. They added that members of alleged state-backed armed groups, commonly referred to locally as “death squads”, were also participating.
Meanwhile, an operation continued for a second day in Hothabad, Kohad, Klaho and surrounding areas of Tump, where large numbers of Pakistani forces personnel remained deployed.
Armed fighters clashed with Pakistani forces in Kohad on Thursday, with casualties reported among military personnel. A man identified as Hammal, son of Nek Bakht, a resident of Dasht Kasar, was also killed during the fighting, although the circumstances of his death remained unclear.
In Cher Kuncheti, in Kech’s Dasht area, armed fighters attacked Pakistani forces taking part in an operation. Initial reports indicated that five military personnel were killed, although the casualty figure could not be independently confirmed.
Personnel assigned to protect military convoys also came under attack in Zoomdan, Buleda. Casualties were reported among Pakistani forces, but the number of those killed or wounded was not immediately available.
Operations in Mastung, Khuzdar and Harnai
In Mastung, local sources said hundreds of Pakistani military personnel surrounded Pangu, in the district’s Dasht area, where an operation involving armoured vehicles and quadcopters was underway.
A military convoy also came under armed attack in Grid, in Mastung’s Gurgina area. Details of casualties or damage were not immediately available.
Pakistani military gunship helicopters reportedly carried out heavy shelling in Pir Umar and surrounding areas of Khuzdar. No details of casualties or damage were immediately available.
In Harnai, hundreds of Pakistani military personnel were reportedly advancing on foot and in vehicles during an operation in Shahrag and surrounding areas, accompanied by armoured vehicles and artillery.
Separately, personnel conducting road clearance in Soro, in Kalat’s Manguchar area, came under sniper fire. One soldier was reportedly killed. However, authorities had not confirmed the death.
In Killa Abdullah, armed fighters destroyed a Pakistani forces post with explosives in Panki, in the Gulistan area, on Thursday. Local sources said the post was unoccupied.
Pakistani authorities had yet to provide details of the operations or confirm the reported casualties. No armed organisation had claimed responsibility for the attacks at the time of reporting.