The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said on Wednesday that its fighters had killed 17 Pakistani soldiers and seized weapons and military equipment in an ambush on a military convoy near Bela in Balochistan.
The group said its Fateh Squad targeted a four-vehicle convoy of the Pakistani military’s 1 Sindh Regiment at around 9:30am near Walpat on the Quetta-Karachi highway.
The convoy was travelling from Karachi towards Basima when it came under direct fire, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said in a statement.
The group said the attack followed “extensive reconnaissance” and close surveillance of the convoy by its intelligence wing, “ZIRAB.”
“During the encounter, the vehicles of the occupying army came under direct fire, killing 17 military personnel and severely injuring several others,” the statement said, adding that its fighters seized the weapons and military equipment carried by the personnel.
Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry earlier confirmed that one junior commissioned officer and 10 soldiers were killed when the convoy came under attack in the Bela-Winder area near the N-25 highway.
The BLA, however, maintained that the death toll had reached 17 and said several other personnel were seriously wounded.
The group said the daylight attack demonstrated the expansion of its operational reach across Balochistan.
“Targeting enemy convoys in broad daylight on central highways is testament to the fact that ground supremacy and field control are gradually shifting in favour of the Baloch resistance,” the statement said.
The BLA accused the Pakistani military of concealing its casualties and said what it described as a policy of “covering up facts” reflected falling morale and growing despondency within its ranks.
The group said its attacks would continue until the establishment of what it described as an independent Baloch state, adding that its armed campaign would proceed “without any compromise, concession or interruption”.