The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) said on Thursday its fighters carried out coordinated attacks across several areas of Balochistan on Nov. 5–6 that killed eight Pakistani soldiers, injured five and led to the seizure of government weapons.
Major Gwahram Baloch, the BLF spokesperson, said in a statement that fighters struck military targets in Dasht, Awaran, Mand, Kolwah, Turbat and Pasni. He said the operations began on the evening of Nov. 5 and continued into Nov. 6.
He said fighters ambushed army personnel unloading rations at Kuddan, Dasht, at about 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 5, with two teams carrying out close-range assaults and heavy-weapons strikes on the camp, damaging surveillance cameras. The BLF said three soldiers were killed and two seriously injured in that attack.
A separate ambush at Pirandar (Kenera) near Awaran on the morning of Nov. 6 targeted troops on foot guarding a convoy, killing three and seizing their weapons, with three others injured, the statement said.
The BLF also said fighters attacked a post at Jirik, Kolwah on Nov. 5 with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy weapons, and fired large-calibre shells at a checkpoint in Guhna, near Turbat, the following day, causing what it described as personnel and material losses.
The group said a remote-controlled explosive was planted at an emplacement near Dastchin, between Mand, Koh Dagar and Goberd, on Nov. 6; two personnel were killed when they arrived at the site, the BLF said. It added that an army air unit later removed the bodies to Mand Soru camp and then to Turbat.
The statement said BLF fighters also blocked the coastal highway at Shtangi on the Gwadar–Pasni route on Nov. 5, carrying out snap checks of vehicles. The Assistant Commissioner of Pasni and his staff were briefly detained, questioned and later released “on account of their Baloch identity,” the group said, adding that their official weapons were confiscated and a Buzzer vehicle was set on fire.
The BLF warned transport owners on main highways not to assist what it described as “occupying” forces, saying those who do so would be held responsible for any loss of life or property.
In an earlier statement released on Wednesday, BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch said the group’s fighters surrounded a police station in the Khattan area of Kachhi at about 1 p.m. on Nov. 4, detained the personnel on duty and seized government weapons and documents before setting the building on fire. The detained officers were later released, he said.
The spokesperson added that on Nov. 1, near the Marjan Hotel close to the Toll Plaza in Kalat, BLF fighters targeted a Bozar vehicle, causing partial damage, and took the driver — identified as Aftab son of Nisar, a resident of Punjab — into custody. He said the driver remains in the organization’s detention.
Pakistani military had not issued any statement at the time of publication.
The Baloch insurgency has persisted for decades but has intensified in recent years, with high-profile attacks and large-scale operations targeting Pakistan’s armed forces.
Baloch armed groups say they are fighting to end what they call Pakistan’s “occupation” and to restore Balochistan’s independence, while the Pakistani state labels them “terrorists” and says its military operations aim to protect national security and maintain stability.