A deadly attack on a vehicle carrying Frontier Corps paramilitaries in southwestern Pakistan’s Balochistan province has left at least 18 security personnel dead, according to officials. The incident occurred when fighters tried to dismantle a roadblock and opened fire on the vehicle.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack, but the military reported that 70-80 armed assailants were involved. In response, the army carried out clearance operations that killed at least 11 of the attackers.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, which is part of a decade-long rebellion by separatist ethnic Baloch groups in the region. The violence has been escalating in recent months, with similar attacks reported in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and worsening relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The mineral-rich province of Balochistan has seen several high-profile attacks in recent years, including an August incident that killed at least 73 people and a January attack that claimed the lives of six individuals. The region’s instability is linked to worsening ties with the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.
In 2024 alone, Pakistan’s military reported over 1,300 fatalities among security personnel in various border clashes.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/1/dozens-of-soldiers-armed-attackers-killed-in-southwest-pakistan-violence