Separatists have launched “coordinated” attacks across Pakistan’s Balochistan province, killing at least 10 security personnel and five civilians, an official said, the latest violence in the insurgency-hit southwestern region.
Officials said dozens of militants were also killed in clashes triggered by the attacks, which come a day after the military said its forces had killed dozens of ethnic Baloch insurgents.
Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, with frequent attacks on security forces, foreign nationals and non-locals in the mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
The senior security official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to brief the media, said that “terrorists ... launched coordinated attacks this morning at more than 12 locations”.
“Ten security personnel were martyred while a few others were injured” and 58 militants were killed in clashes, said the official.
He said five civilians from a Baloch family, including a woman and three children, were also killed by militants.
The circumstances surrounding the family’s death were not immediately clear, but Baloch separatists have previously targeted civilians believed to have collaborated with state agencies.
A senior military official said the attacks were “coordinated but poorly executed”, arguing they had “failed due to poor planning and rapid collapse under effective security response”.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for “foiling” the attacks, in a statement accusing India of backing the separatists.
“We will continue the war against terrorism until its complete eradication,” he said.
Four police officials in as many districts said the situation was not completely under control.
“Since morning, there have been explosions, one after another,” Abdul Wali, a private employee, said as he struggled to find blood for his hospitalised mother.
“The police point guns at us and say ‘go back’, otherwise they beat us. What should we do?” — AFP
