Home Asia Pakistan: Baloch Militants Kill Seven Paramilitary Troops

Pakistan: Baloch Militants Kill Seven Paramilitary Troops

Pakistan militant attack, Pakistan attack, Balochistan attack, Pakistan BLA, BLA attack, Quetta attack

Militants stormed a paramilitary checkpoint in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing seven troops, the latest in a string of attacks by separatist insurgents, police said.

The early-morning attack by militants in the mountainous Kalat district, some 150 km south of Quetta, capital of the southwestern Balochistan province of Pakistan, continued for several hours, said police officer Habib-ur-Rehman.

Another 18 wounded paramilitary soldiers, some in critical condition, were admitted to local hospitals, he said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack.

He said that “immediate action would be taken against the perpetrators of the attack. Such cowardly acts cannot deter our resolve together with our nation and security forces, we will eliminate this menace. ”

BLA Claims Responsibility

Separatist militant group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said in an email sent to a Reuters reporter that its fighters had attacked the checkpoint.

Yesterday, mobile internet was cut off in some parts of Balochistan for “public safety”, as per the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s announcement.

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The BLA has stepped up its operations recently, claiming a suicide bombing last week that targeted Pakistani army troops at Quetta railway station. This was minutes before they were due to board a train to return home for vacations. It killed 27, including 19 soldiers, who were in civilian clothing.

The group has also claimed a suicide bombing last month outside the southern Karachi international airport, which killed two Chinese engineers.

Other Attacks

There has been a rise in the number of militant attacks in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, in the last one year.

The BLA and several other militant groups have been fighting for decades for a separate homeland to gain a greater share of the mineral and resource rich Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

The region is home to Gwadar Port, built by China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to expand China’s global reach by road, rail and sea.

(with inputs from Reuters)