It was the biggest attack in years by ethnic militants in a decades-long insurgency seeking to secede from the resource-rich southwestern province, home to major Chinese-funded projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine.
"These attacks were a well-thought-out plan to create chaos in Pakistan," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement.
Burnt vehicles, after separatist militants carried out attacks in Balochistan province, Pakistan on August 26, 2024. Photo: Reuters
Pakistan's military says 14 soldiers, police and 21 militants have been killed in fighting after the biggest attack on buses and trucks on a major highway.
The Balochistan chief minister said 38 civilians were also killed. Local officials said 23 of them were killed in the roadside attack after gunmen stopped buses and shot passengers indiscriminately.
"People were dragged off buses and killed in front of their families," Minister Sarfraz Bugti said in a televised news conference.
Rail traffic in Quetta has been suspended following an explosion on a railway bridge linking the provincial capital to the rest of Pakistan. Militants also attacked a railway link to neighbouring Iran.
Police said they found six unidentified bodies near the site of the attack on a railway bridge.
Militants also targeted police and security posts in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but least populous province, killing at least 10 people in a single attack, officials said.
The militant group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the operation, which it calls “Haruf” or “black storm”. In a statement to journalists, it claimed there had been more attacks in the past day, which have yet to be confirmed by the authorities.
Positions attacked by insurgents in Pakistan. Graphic photo: AJ
The group said four suicide bombers, including a woman, were involved in an attack on the Bela paramilitary base. Pakistani authorities have not confirmed the suicide bombings, but officials said three people were killed at the base.
The BLA is the largest of several ethnic rebel groups fighting the central government, which it says is unfairly exploiting the province's gas and mineral resources. It wants to expel the Chinese and gain independence for Balochistan.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was re-elected in March, said security forces would retaliate and bring those responsible to justice.
Bugti said more intelligence operations would be launched to destroy the militants. "They carry out attacks, film them and share them on social media for propaganda purposes," he said.
General Li Qiaoming, commander of the Chinese Army, and Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir met on Monday, although a statement issued by the Pakistani military after the meeting made no mention of the attacks.
European Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said the EU condemned the attack.
Hoang Anh (according to Reuters, CNN, AJ)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/vu-quan-ly-khai-tan-cong-kinh-hoang-o-pakistan-hon-70-nguoi-thiet-mang-quan-doi-dang-truy-diet-post309395.html
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