Militants in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province Wednesday attacked two para-military bases in the latest violence in the resource-rich province where China is investing heavily.
China is involved in the development of the Gwadar port and other projects in the province as part of a $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a major part of Beijing's Belt and Road initiative.
The overnight attacks came hours before Prime Minister Imran Khan set off for Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympic Games. "We salute our brave security forces who repulsed terrorist attacks," Khan said in a statement on Thursday.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLF) insurgent group claimed responsibility in a statement sent to a Reuters reporter, saying its suicide bombers had detonated explosive-laden vehicles at the entrance of the bases killing more than 50 soldiers.
Last week, the insurgents killed 10 soldiers in an attack on a post near the port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.
Pakistan on Thursday blamed elements based in Afghanistan and India for attacks on the two security forces' installations in the Balochistan province.
At least 13 terrorists were killed and seven security personnel, including an officer, killed during armed attacks on two para-military camps in the Nushki and Panjgur districts, and subsequent security operations against the attackers, Army's Public Relations said.
The army said that after successfully repulsing attacks on Wednesday night, security forces carried out clearance operations to hunt down the attackers hiding in the area, killing at least five terrorists.
The Army statement mentioned that according to their initial findings, intelligence agencies had intercepted communications between terrorists and their handlers in Afghanistan and India.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Adviser to the Balochistan Chief Minister on Home and Tribal Affairs Ziaullah Langove said that security forces had completed their operation in Nushki, but action was still underway in the Panjgur bazaar area.
Due to ongoing action, he said that markets remained closed while the Panjgur local administration had asked residents of the area not to leave their homes until further orders.
According to Langove, heavy fighting raged on between armed insurgents and security forces for nearly 20 hours, starting late on Wednesday when terrorists launched attacks on Security installations in Nushki and Panjgur.
Dawn reported that the insurgents had used explosive-laden vehicles to attack the gates of the para-military camps in both towns in order to infiltrate the installations. The resulting explosion badly damaged government and private buildings and offices.
"In Nushki, the civil hospital was badly damaged in the explosion as it is located close to the camp," an official told Dawn.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid told the Geo News, Tehreek-Talban-Pakistan (TTP), Daesh and a Baloch sub nationalist network also backed the terrorists to enable the attack, as he doesn't feel the BLA can pull off such an attack on their own. He said all these groups have recently formed an umbrella organization the Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) to carry out terrorism. He accused New Delhi of directing these terrorist organizations for subversion in Pakistan from sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
