QUETTA: Pakistan’s military has confirmed that 42 police and army personnel were killed in militant attacks across the southwestern province of Balochistan over the past week, according to Reuters.
However, the local sources, coupled with casualty claims made by separatist militant groups following subsequent attacks, suggest the overall security force death toll during the same period could be significantly higher than the official figure.
According to local sources, at least 11 Pakistani military personnel were killed on Wednesday when armed militants ambushed a large army convoy on the Quetta–Karachi highway in the Walpat area of Bela district. Several others were wounded, while the attackers reportedly seized weapons from the slain soldiers before withdrawing. Sources familiar with the incident said the actual death toll may be higher than initially reported.
In a separate incident, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a Pakistan Coast Guard camp in the Panwan area of Jiwani, Gwadar district, saying more than 30 security personnel were killed and dozens wounded after an explosives-laden vehicle struck the facility. The group later released video footage that it said showed the attack and the destruction of the camp.
If the Bela casualties reported by local sources and the BLA’s claims regarding Jiwani are confirmed, the week’s security force death toll would rise well above the 42 acknowledged by the military. Zrumbesh media cannot independently verify the casualty figures or determine whether the Bela and Jiwani incidents were included in the military’s official tally.
