In Pakistan’s troubled southwest Balochistan region, a separatist militant strike took place late on Monday, killing at least 15 people. Two civilians and four law enforcement officials were among the victims, the Pakistani military said in a statement.
According to the Pakistan military’s Inter Services Public Relations office (ISPR), militants, including suicide bombers, attacked the Mach and Kolpur complexes in the southwest of Balochistan. The report claims that at least nine more extremists were killed along with three suicide bombers.
“Security forces in the vicinity were immediately mobilised who are carrying out ensuing operation,” ISPR stated.
The incident was attributed to the most well-known separatist organization in the southwest region of Balochistan, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
The organization seeks independence for Pakistan’s largest province in terms of area but smallest in terms of population—mountainous and mineral-rich Balochistan—which has been experiencing an insurgency for several decades.
Balochistan has a lengthy coastline on the Arabian Sea, borders Afghanistan to the north, and Iran to the west. It boasts the largest natural gas field in Pakistan and likely has many more untapped reserves.
As a component of President Xi Jinping’s expansive Belt and Road infrastructure program, Balochistan is a crucial location in China’s gigantic multibillion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
