Baloch armed groups claim attacks on Pakistani forces, infrastructure across Balochistan

The Balochistan Liberation Front and Baloch Republican Guards claimed responsibility for multiple attacks targeting Pakistani military and police forces and infrastructure across Balochistan between September 13 and 20. The groups claimed casualties among security personnel and damage to communications and other facilities

Quetta: Two Baloch armed groups, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and the Baloch Republican Guards (BRG), claimed responsibility for a series of attacks targeting Pakistani forces and key infrastructure across Balochistan that resulted in heavy casualties, according to local media reports.

In a statement to the media, BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch said the group conducted nine separate operations between September 13 and 20 in different parts of the province, including Kech, Dalbandin, Kharan, Mastung, Khuzdar, Dasht, Awaran and Quetta.

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According to the statement, BLF fighters attacked a Pakistani military convoy in the Pullabad area of Tump in Kech on September 20, using heavy and automatic weapons. It further claimed that several rockets were fired at a military checkpoint in the area, resulting in casualties and material losses for Pakistani forces.

The spokesperson further said that on September 19, BLF fighters targeted a military communications tower in the Ashlolo Padag area of Dalbandin, setting its equipment on fire.

The group alleged that the tower was used for communications, surveillance and military activities, The Balochistan Post reported. In another operation, the group claimed that its fighters set up a blockade in the Maro area of Mastung on September 17 and intercepted vehicles travelling through the area.

It said that a military vehicle carrying Pakistani military personnel was attacked after those inside attempted to draw their weapons. The group claimed that the attack left four personnel seriously injured. As the operation continued, the BLF said that a sniper attack on a military checkpoint in the Suneri area of Mashkay district on September 15 left one Pakistan’s Frontier Corps personnel dead.

The group claimed that its members encountered Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel during an organisational patrol in the Sariab area of Quetta on September 15.

It said the ensuing attack killed three CTD personnel and injured two others. According to the BLF, bomb disposal personnel were attacked with an improvised explosive device in the Malant area of Tump on September 13 while attempting to defuse a planted explosive.

The group claimed that the blast resulted in the death of one military personnel and injuries to another.

In a separate incident, the Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) said it had carried out an attack against an armed group it identified as a state-backed “death squad” in the Kachhi Qalandar area of Kachhi district. BRG spokesperson Dostain Baloch, in a media statement, said that the group’s fighters encountered the death squads while conducting a routine patrol.

He said that the armed men linked to death squads tried to obstruct their movement, prompting the fighters to respond with an attack. The spokesperson claimed that the death squad members escaped from the scene, leaving behind their weapons.

These latest incidents come against the backdrop of escalating attacks by Baloch armed groups targeting Pakistani military and police forces across Balochistan in recent days, resulting in heavy casualties and damage to infrastructure.