The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) on Tuesday claimed that more than 80 Pakistani military and intelligence personnel were killed in “Operation Almas” as it released a detailed account of its attacks on the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) camp and other military and police positions in Gwadar district.
In a statement, BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch said the dead included a Military Intelligence (MI) captain, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officers and Special Services Group (SSG) personnel. Dozens of others were seriously wounded, he added.
The group had announced the operation’s conclusion on October 23, saying its fighters held the FWO camp at Zero Point for 20 hours. It also named seven members of its Saddo Operational Battalion (SOB) killed during the assault.
Pakistan’s military, however, said on October 23 that 10 attackers, including a woman, were killed during operations in Gwadar city and near the Gabd border crossing. Its media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said one civilian was killed and a few vehicles were damaged, adding that the operations concluded “without any loss to security forces”.
Also Read | BLF Says Gwadar Operation Concluded After Holding FWO Camp for 20 Hours
Assault on the FWO Camp
Gwahram Baloch said the operation began at 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 22, when Mujahid Mehr, alias Sagar Zamurani, carried out a vehicle-borne suicide bombing at the FWO camp’s entrance. The blast destroyed the main gate and adjoining positions, opening the way for other SOB fighters to enter, he added.
He said the Qurban Unit, Karima Armed Assault Division, Sniper Tactical Team and Intelligence Unit simultaneously began operations in Gwadar, Gabd and Rimdan 250.
Inside the FWO compound, the spokesperson said fighters attacked an ISI office, killing an officer and five others. Six MI personnel, including a captain, were killed in fighting at another office, he added.
The fighters then attacked a multistorey residential barracks and took positions inside it, according to the statement. “In total, 21 personnel were killed in the fighting in these barracks,” Gwahram Baloch said.
He described nine further clashes during the night as Pakistani forces attempted to retake the compound, followed by mortar and artillery fire that slightly wounded Almas and another fighter, Nodan.
A military advance with fresh troops and armoured vehicles the following morning was also repelled, he claimed, saying around 13 personnel were killed and two armoured vehicles destroyed.
The statement said four quadcopters and two surveillance drones were shot down during the fighting. It also attributed six deaths to the sniper team across the operation.
Gwahram Baloch said the assault team remained in control for more than 20 hours and contacted its command as ammunition ran out. Commander Khalid and the remaining fighters ended the operation under what the BLF called “the philosophy of the last bullet”, according to the statement.
Attacks at Gabd and Rimdan
Meanwhile, the Qurban Unit and other BLF formations attacked police stations, military positions and vehicles near the Iranian border, the spokesperson said.
At Mazani, fighters attacked a police station, killing one official, and set fire to three tankers. They also seized Gabd Kalatu police station and a government vehicle, burned two large vehicles and damaged others, according to the BLF spokesperson.
Gwahram Baloch said Pakistani forces advancing towards Gabd Kalatu subsequently came under attack near the bridge. He claimed eight personnel were killed when a military vehicle was destroyed during a two-hour clash.
Elsewhere, fighters attacked Gabd police station after personnel resisted calls to surrender, setting the building on fire. A military camp at Rimdan 250 was targeted at the same time, with several personnel killed or wounded, the statement said.
The spokesperson alleged that some Pakistani personnel crossed into Iran and took shelter in Iranian military positions. He said fighters also searched and burned commercial vehicles, and ambushed a three-vehicle reinforcement convoy during their withdrawal, claiming dozens of personnel were killed or wounded.
Across the operation, the BLF reported the destruction or disabling of armoured vehicles, supply trucks and reinforcement vehicles, along with five large tankers and several commercial trucks and trailers.
Almas’s Role in the Operation
The BLF said the operation was named after Almas Baloch, identified in its earlier release as Bilqees Didag, who served as second-in-command and helped plan the assault.
Gwahram Baloch said she had worked with the organisation for eight years, passing intelligence from Dasht, Turbat and Gwadar and delivering supplies to fighters during military operations. She joined the SOB when it was established, he added.
The statement alleged that Pakistani military personnel and members of state-backed armed groups had tortured and seriously injured her. It said she went underground following repeated attempts to abduct her and continued working with the organisation.
Gwahram Baloch said her role challenged those who thought “Baloch women would play only the role of spectators in this national war”. Future operations carried out in what the BLF described as the defence of the coast would also bear her name, he added.
The BLF also released a training video of its Saddo Operational Battalion. The footage shows male and female fighters in physical and weapons drills.
In the video’s closing statement, the battalion’s command warned Pakistan and its international partners of further attacks and said the armed campaign would continue “as long as a single soldier of the occupier remains on our land”.
‘Commercial and Military Arms’
The statement also set out the BLF’s reasons for targeting the FWO. Gwahram Baloch said:
“The FWO and other so-called development institutions are in fact the commercial and military arms of this occupying army, used to loot our resources, guard international exploitative companies and change our demography.”
He said the organisation was “not against any outside power or country”, but opposed Pakistan’s control over Balochistan and the exploitation of its coast and resources.
Gwahram Baloch warned that the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Reko Diq, Saindak and other projects would remain SOB targets. Projects undertaken with Pakistan without the Baloch people’s consent would face attacks, the statement said, adding that foreign institutions would be responsible for their losses.