Pakistani forces came under attack in Balochistan’s Kalat, Nushki, Kech and Surab districts on Saturday, with at least two personnel reportedly killed, while local sources said a drone strike following a convoy ambush in Kech killed a labourer and injured six others.
In Kech’s Cher Kuncheti area of Dasht, armed fighters targeted a military convoy with a bomb explosion followed by an armed assault. Sources said three military vehicles were hit and several personnel were killed or wounded, although casualty figures were not immediately available.
Local sources said Pakistani forces subsequently carried out a drone strike that killed a labourer working in watermelon fields and wounded six others. The affected workers were reportedly Pashtuns from Quetta.
Read More | Kech: One Labourer Killed, Six Injured in Suspected Military Drone Strike
Military officials had yet to issue a statement on the incident.
In Kalat, two Pakistani forces personnel were reportedly killed and several wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted personnel travelling on foot in the Marjan area.
Armed fighters also attacked Pakistani forces advancing into Chotank, in Kalat’s Manguchar area, to conduct an operation. Further details were not immediately available.
A Pakistani forces camp at Hazhdah Khol in Nushki came under a heavy armed attack, with local sources saying gunfire and explosions were heard for several hours. Details of casualties or damage were not immediately available.
Clashes were also reported in Surab’s Gidar area, where sources said exchanges of gunfire between Pakistani forces and armed fighters had continued since the morning. Casualties were reported among the forces, but the toll and circumstances of the fighting remained unclear. Officials had yet to provide details.
No armed organisation had claimed responsibility for the attacks on Pakistani forces at the time of reporting.
Separately, an explosion brought down an electricity transmission tower near Goth Haji Mughal Khan Bugti in Dera Murad Jamali, Naseerabad district, late on Friday night.
Local sources said explosives had been planted on the main transmission line carrying electricity from Uch Power Plant to Punjab. Forces cordoned off the area and began an investigation.
The Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, spokesperson Dostain Baloch said the group’s fighters had planted explosives at transmission towers near the village.
The statement said one tower collapsed completely and two others were severely damaged.
Dostain Baloch said such operations would continue until Balochistan achieved complete independence.