Islamabad (VOA) —
Authorities in Pakistan said Saturday that a roadside bomb exploded near a military convoy in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province. As a result of the explosion, five soldiers died.
A statement from the Pakistan Army said the fatal bombing occurred amid counterterrorism operations in the remote Kech district. The military claimed it killed “three terrorists” in a fierce firefight during the operation.
A rebel group known as the Baluchistan Liberation Front (BLF) claimed responsibility for the attack. The BLF is one of a number of ethnic Baluch rebel groups plotting to attack Pakistani security forces in the province. They say that they are fighting for the independence of Balochistan.
Earlier on Saturday (13/1), Pakistan’s military said it killed four militants, including two key commanders, in separate counterterrorism operations in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Both Pakistani provinces border Afghanistan and have recently experienced almost daily insurgency attacks. The attacks mainly targeted security forces.
The violence is mostly claimed by the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militant group and Baluch rebels. The ISIS-affiliated group in the region, known as Islamic State (IS)-Khorasan, is also active in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Militant attacks killed around 500 security forces and nearly 500 civilians in Pakistan during 2023. Pakistani leaders say the bloodshed is often carried out by TTP commanders and combatants on the run from their safe havens in Afghanistan.
The de facto Taliban government in power in conflict-ridden Afghanistan denies the accusations. They say they do not allow anyone to threaten Pakistan or other countries. (ft)