Quetta, Aug 3 (IANS) The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) has claimed that as many as 97 Pakistani military personnel and five alleged informants were killed while 15 other military personnel were injured in 48 operations carried out by the group in Balochistan last month, local media reported on Monday.
In its monthly operational report, BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch said the operations carried out by the group targetted the Pakistani military and other state forces, military and economic installations, communication systems and surveillance infrastructure, The Balochistan Post reported.
The attacks were conducted in Kahan, Chagai, Kharan, Kalat, Mastung, Khuzdar, Basima, Mand, Tump, Gomazi, Jhao, Quetta, Zamuran, Surab, Mashkel, Buleda, Karachi, Pasni, Rakhni, Naal, Khudan, Balnegwar and Mashkay. The BLF said the attacks were conducted to paralyse what it termed as the “colonial structure” of the Pakistani state in Balochistan, stop the exploitation of resources and weaken its military control.
Gwahram Baloch described the attack targeting Pakistani military convoy at Macro Stop in Mastung’s Khadkocha on July 22 as the month’s largest and deadliest operation. It claimed that 17 Pakistani military personnel were killed and 10 others were injured in Mastung while the convoy suffered material damage.
The BLF said its fighters created blockades and took control at nine points on key highways in July to disrupt military supply routes and hold military dominance in the area.
According to the statement released by the group, military personnel and material losses were reported after seven Pakistani military convoys were ambushed. The group said that its fighters conducted coordinated attacks on six major military camps and seven checkpoints, The Balochistan Post reported.
The BLF claimed that its fighters destroyed two drones used for aerial reconnaissance, surveillance and three ground surveillance cameras. The group said that 15 Pakistani military vehicles were destroyed and five modern weapons were seized from Pakistani personnel during operations and explosions carried out by the fighters.
According to the statement, the BLF used various guerrilla tactics for the attacks carried out in July, which included 16 attacks conducted using heavy weapons, eight ambushes, five intelligence-based covert operations, four sniper attacks, two grenade launcher attacks, two IED attacks and one hand-grenade attack.
The Baloch armed group’s statement comes amid a rise in attacks targeting law enforcement personnel in Pakistan, especially in the border provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On July 22, a police personnel was killed after unidentified assailants opened fire on him in Sarvekai area of Upper South Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The officials said the police constable, deployed at Sarvekai police station, was heading to perform his official duty when unidentified assailants opened fire on him near a stream in the Moley Khan Sarai area, Pakistani daily Dawn reported. He succumbed to his injuries at the site of the incident before medical assistance could reach him.
After the incident, police and law enforcement personnel rushed to the site of the incident and collected evidence. Police officials said that a probe was being conducted from multiple angles.
–IANS
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