The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed that 43 Pakistani military personnel and members of alleged state-backed ‘death squads’ were killed in 13 operations across Balochistan between September 7 and 13, according to a report.The Balochistan Post (TBP) said that in its weekly statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said the group’s militants carried out attacks and blockades across areas including Basima, Kharan, Panjgur, Chagai, Tump, Surab, Killa Abdullah, Lasbela, Jiwani and Mashkel.The development comes as a powerful blast at a mosque inside a police compound in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killed at least 16 people and injured 57, police and rescue officials said on Friday. Five police officers and 11 civilians were among the dead. Seven armed gunmen also tried to enter the compound, with six killed in the ensuing gunfire.According to the BLA statement, the operations targeted military convoys, checkpoints and surveillance equipment, alongside people the BLA described as members of “death squads”. The group also reported attacks on commercial vehicles, bridges and a lithium extraction project.The claims could not be independently verified.The campaign allegedly began on September 7 with a five-hour blockade of a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor route in Basima, where the BLA said its fighters conducted checks. It claimed five Pakistani personnel were killed and several injured, while three BLA militants also died in the clashes.The following day, the group claimed an ambush on a military convoy in Kharan left at least four personnel killed or wounded. In Panjgur, it said militants attacked military supply vehicles and destroyed surveillance cameras.On September 10, the BLA claimed it blocked the Quetta-Taftan trade route in Chagai, seized two commercial vehicles and destroyed a bridge with explosives. It also claimed one of its units brought down a Pakistani military surveillance quadcopter in Tump.Two attacks were reported in Surab on September 11. The BLA claimed six military personnel were killed in an ambush on a convoy at Tobo, while another three were killed and four injured during a separate clash at Rodeni Cross.In Lasbela on September 12, the group claimed an attack on a military bomb-disposal convoy destroyed two vehicles and damaged two others, killing nine personnel and injuring more than 11.The BLA also claimed that 25 members of an alleged ‘death squad’ were killed in Killa Abdullah on September 13, followed by a four-hour clash involving Pakistani forces and the militants. Five BLA fighters were also reported killed.The group said 10 of its BLA militants were killed during the operations and vowed that its “military confrontation will continue on every front”, until Pakistani forces withdraw and an independent Balochistan is established.
