By Saleem Ahmed and Ariba Shahid
QUETTA, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Pakistani security forces killed 145 militants in a 40-hour battle launched as a series of coordinated gun and bomb attacks across Balochistan left nearly 50 people dead, the province’s chief minister said on Sunday.
Authorities in the southwestern province are battling one of the deadliest flare-ups in years, as insurgents in the resource-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan step up assaults on security forces, civilians and infrastructure.
Attackers dressed as ordinary civilians entered hospitals, schools, banks and markets on Saturday before opening fire, Pakistan’s junior interior minister Talal Chaudhry said.
“In each case, the attackers came in dressed as civilians and indiscriminately targeted ordinary people working in shops,” he said, adding militants had used civilians as human shields.
The banned separatist group Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it had launched a coordinated operation dubbed Herof, or “black storm”, targeting security forces across the province.
In Quetta, the provincial capital, the aftermath was visible in burnt-out vehicles at a police station, bullet-riddled doors and streets sealed off with yellow tape, as security forces tightened patrols and restricted movement following the attacks.
Chief Minister of Balochistan Sarfraz Bugti said 17 law enforcement personnel and 31 civilians were killed in the militant attacks. Pakistan’s military said 92 militants were killed on Saturday, while 41 were killed on Friday.
“We had intelligence reports that this kind of operation was being planned, and as a result of those, we started pre-operations a day before,” Bugti said.
The latest total is the highest number of militants killed in such a short span since the insurgency intensified, Bugti said, without providing comparative figures.
Officials said the militant assaults were launched almost simultaneously across Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung and Noshki districts, with armed men opening fire at security installations including a Frontier Corps headquarters, attempting suicide bombings and briefly blocking roads in urban areas, prompting large-scale counter-operations by the army, police and counterterrorism units.
Outside a damaged shop, private security guard Jamil Ahmed Mashwani said attackers struck shortly after midday. “They hit me on my face and head.”
PROVINCE-WIDE COORDINATED ATTACKS
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, has faced a decades-long insurgency led by ethnic Baloch separatists seeking greater autonomy and a larger share of its natural resources.
The group claimed it had killed 84 members of Pakistan’s security forces and captured 18 others. Reuters could not independently verify the claim. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that two of the attacks involved female perpetrators and militants were increasingly targeting civilians, labourers and low-income communities.
The military said security forces had repelled attempts by militants to seize control of any city or strategic installation.
CLAIMS AND BLAME
Pakistan’s military said on Saturday the attacks were carried out by “Indian-sponsored militants”. India, Pakistan’s neighbouring arch rival, denied that assertion on Sunday, accusing Islamabad of deflecting attention from its own internal problems.
“We categorically reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, adding that Islamabad should instead address “long-standing demands of its people in the region”.
The United States condemned the attacks, with U.S. Charge d’Affaires Natalie Baker calling them acts of terrorist violence and saying Washington stood in solidarity with Pakistan. The Balochistan Liberation Army is designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Pakistan has faced periodic attacks by Islamist militants elsewhere in the country, including factions linked to the Pakistani Taliban.
(Reporting by Saleem Ahmed in Quetta and Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Additional reporting Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard, Saad Sayeed, Alexandra Hudson)
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