14 Pakistani security personnel among 73 killed in terror attacks in Balochistan

At least 73 people died in Pakistan’s province of Balochistan in a series of terrorist attacks on police stations, railway lines and highways. The security forces immediately launched a counter-attack on the militants, leading to dozens of casualties, officials said.

Pakistani military said that 14 soldiers and police and 21 terrorists were killed during the gunfight which followed one of the largest terror attacks in the country. The gunmen targeted buses and trucks on major highways, and aimed at killing civilians, said officials.

Balochistan’s chief minister said 38 civilians were killed. Local officials said 23 of them were killed in the roadside attack after armed men checked passengers’ IDs before shooting many of them and torching vehicles. People were pulled out of vehicles and shot in front of their families, officials said.

Armed men reportedly blocked highways and forced passengers out of their vehicles. Passengers were shot after the terrorists checked their ID cards. As many as 35 vehicles were set on fire on the highway in the area of Musakhail.

The gunmen mainly targeted workers from Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab, whom they see as exploiting their resources.

Apart from gun attacks, multiple blasts also took place on the rail bridge linking the provincial capital to the rest of Pakistan. Terrorists also struck a rail link to neighbouring Iran, railways official Muhammad Kashif said. The attacks on security stations ended up killing at least 10 people.

In an official statement, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that the attacks were pre-planned and were carried out to create anarchy in Pakistan.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), armed group took responsibility for the operation they called “Haruf” or “dark windy storm”. In a statement to journalists they claimed more attacks over the last day that have not yet been confirmed by authorities.

The group said four suicide bombers, including a woman from the southern port district of Gwadar, had been involved in an attack on the Bela paramilitary base. Pakistani authorities did not confirm the suicide blasts, but the provincial chief minister said three people had been killed at the base.

The attacks took place on Monday, August 26, which is the death anniversary of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti, who was killed by Pakistani security forces in 2006.

(With inputs from Reuters)