JAMMU: The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has said that 13 Pakistani military personnel were killed and at least 10 were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack and subsequent ambush on a convoy in Balochistan’s Mastung district. BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the group’s fighters destroyed an armoured vehicle with an improvised explosive device in the Khadkocha area on August 22 night and later ambushed another armoured vehicle and accompanying vehicles.
“In this severe attack, 13 personnel of the occupying army were killed and more than 10 others injured,” Jeeyand Baloch said, adding that the BLA’s Special Tactical Operations Squad took part in the operation.
Local sources had earlier confirmed to The Balochistan Post that one armoured vehicle was destroyed in an explosion and a second was damaged. They said armed fighters subsequently ambushed the convoy and damaged another military vehicle.
Curfew imposed after Mastung convoy attack
The Balochistan Home Department imposed an indefinite curfew in Khadkocha and surrounding areas from 7 AM on August 23 following the attack. The BLA also claimed that three Pakistani military personnel were killed and three others injured in a separate attack in Hairabad, Turbat, on August 23.
Officials confirmed that an FC road search team had been attacked in Hairabad but said only three personnel were injured. According to officials, six-armed men riding three motorcycles threw a grenade and opened fire. The attackers fled after FC personnel returned fire, officials added.
The BLA also claimed eight other operations in Noshki, Kalat, Kharan, Washuk, Zehri and Chagai and said further details would be released in its forthcoming weekly statement.
Armoured vehicles destroyed, casualties evacuated
Local sources said a large armoured vehicle travelling as part of a military convoy was destroyed in an explosion in Khadkcoha, while a second armoured vehicle was reportedly damaged. Sources further claimed that armed men subsequently ambushed the convoy, causing additional damage to another military vehicle.
According to regional sources, the bodies of two military personnel and eight injured soldiers were transported to Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital in Mastung. Other injured personnel were reportedly airlifted by helicopter to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Quetta.
Pakistani authorities have not released official casualty figures from the incident.
Following the attack, the Balochistan Home Department imposed an indefinite curfew from 7:00 AM on August 23 in Khadkocha and surrounding areas. Residents were instructed to remain indoors, while movement on roads and in markets was suspended. Authorities said the measure was taken in response to security concerns and ongoing operations in the area.
Khadkocha becoming a headache for forces
The latest incident comes more than a month after a major attack in the same area on July 17, when a convoy of more than 18 buses and security vehicles travelling from Quetta towards Karachi came under attack. The BLA claimed responsibility for that attack and claimed that dozens of military personnel were killed or injured.
In a separate incident on the night of August 22, a bridge on the N-25 national highway was destroyed in an explosion between Anjeeri Cross near Khadkocha in Mastung district. According to authorities, unidentified individuals targeted the bridge with explosives. No casualties were reported.
Officials did not immediately provide details regarding the extent of the damage or the impact on traffic along the highway, which serves as one of the principal road links connecting Balochistan with Karachi and other parts of Pakistan.
The incident was the third reported bridge attack within a week. On August 21, a bridge in the Zidi area of Khuzdar was reportedly destroyed in an explosion. Earlier, a bridge on the Kharan–Karachi highway in the Sotagan area of Kharan was reportedly demolished using heavy machinery.
No group has claimed responsibility for any of the bridge attacks.
