Quetta, Sep 24 (IANS) The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on Thursday claimed responsibility for 25 operations across Balochistan over the past few days targeting Pakistani forces that resulted in the death of 18 security personnel and injuries to several others, local media reported.
In a statement issued to the media, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said that its fighters carried out attacks between September 14 and 23 in several parts of the province, including Panjgur, Kech, Kharan, Khuzdar, Mastung, Washuk, Nushki and other areas.
He said that during the operations, the BLA attacked Pakistani military convoys and posts, surveillance infrastructure, supply routes, and what the group described as “death squads”, The Balochistan Post reported.
According to the statement, the BLA targeted members of the military’s bomb disposal squad with an improvised explosive device (IED) on September 22 during a foot patrol in the Tera Mile area of Dasht, near Quetta. The group claimed that the attack left one Pakistani personnel dead and another injured
The BLA said that the same day, fighters took control of Baghbana Police Station in Khuzdar, while seizing weapons and equipment kept at the facility.
The group said that police Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) personnel, accompanied by “death squad” members, later attempted to move into the area but came under attack. It said that several members of the alleged armed group were killed and police personnel, including Station House Officer (SHO) Muneer Alam Jattak, were injured.
According to the BLA, its fighters also targeted Pakistani military forces near Shaheed Balach Khan Stadium on Bypass Road in Nushki on September 20, killing two personnel and injuring four others. It further claimed that a military post in the Koshk area of Buleda came under several rounds of grenade-launcher fire.
The group said its fighters seized control of Radig in Mand on September 21, setting up blockades at key points and launching an assault on the Pakistani military’s main camp using heavy and automatic weapons.
Earlier, on September 18, it claimed that its fighters took control of Balochabad and Bullo in Mand, blocked key entry points, and addressed public gatherings in the area during the operation.
The BLA alleged that Pakistani forces later used quadcopters to target civilian settlements, injuring five people, while its fighters brought down one of the drones.
The group vowed to continue its operations against what it described as exploitation of Balochistan’s resources, alleged state-backed armed groups and Pakistan’s “exploitative policies”.
“These sacrifices by our fighters and the strategy of economic blockade are inflicting defeat on the occupying military on every front,” the statement said, adding that the BLA’s armed struggle against Pakistan would persist until “free and sovereign Balochistan” was established.
–IANS
scor/ksk/as
