More than 15 Pakistan Coast Guards personnel were killed when armed fighters attacked two boats off Jiwani in Balochistan’s Gwadar district on Sunday, local sources said.
There was no immediate official confirmation of the reported deaths, and no armed group had claimed responsibility at the time of reporting.
Local sources said Pakistani forces’ movement increased in Jiwani following the attack. Fishermen were recalled from the sea and told not to return until further orders, they added.
The attack follows an April 12 assault on a patrol boat in the same coastal area that killed three Coast Guards personnel. Officials in Makran said at the time that the vessel had been conducting a routine patrol.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the April attack and subsequently announced the formation of a maritime unit, the “Hammal Maritime Defence Force.”
The group’s media wing, Hakkal, later released footage showing masked fighters boarding a speedboat before approaching and opening fire on the patrol vessel.
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At the time, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch described the attack as an “expansion of its operational reach into maritime areas”, adding that its objective was “to halt the plunder of Baloch resources through sea routes and to inflict losses upon the enemy on every front”.