Multiple armed attacks were reported in major cities of Balochistan on Wednesday, ahead of Pakistan’s “Independence” Day, Baloch armed group claims responsibility.
According to reports, unidentified individuals targeted a stall selling Pakistani flags with a hand grenade bomb near the Pakistani forces’ check post on Joint Road in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. The attack resulted in injuring five people including two policemen.
The Pakistani armed forces present near the incident site blocked the road and an exchange of fire took place between the security forces and attackers. However, the attackers reportedly escaped unhurt.
Meanwhile, the injured victims of the blast were shifted to the civil hospital Quetta for medical assistance.
Similarly, some unidentified persons attacked the police station with a hand grenade bomb in the Mula area of Balochistan’s Khuzdar district and fled the scene. As per locals, immediately after the bang, heavy firings were heard for a while in the area. However, no casualties have been reported so far.
Additionally, unidentified armed men targeted a motorcycle patrolling team of Pakistan’s Frontier Crops (FC) and Police with a remote-control explosive device at Chamrok in Khuzdar. The law-enforcement forces cordoned off the blast site and started a search operation in the area. The authorities are yet to comment on the attack.
A pro-independence Baloch armed group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) took responsibility for the aforementioned attacks in a press release. The group’s spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the BLA fighters targeted the Pakistani military and a so-called Pakistani independence day stall in four different attacks in Khuzdar, Quetta, and Kolwah.
Furthermore, the group’s spokesperson unfolding the details of the attack in the Kolwah area of district Kechsaid that BLA fighters targeted an outpost of the Pakistani military in Kolwah, claiming at least two army personnel were injured in the attack, and a surveillance drone was shot down as well.
The BLA spokesperson sharing the results of these attacks said, “Two enemy personnel were killed and nine were injured in all four attacks.”
He also warned of further intensified attacks and appealed to the Baloch public to keep a safe distance from stalls, events, and rallies that are going to be held for Pakistan’s National Day.