Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed on Tuesday when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) in the insurgency-hit southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan’s military confirmed in an official statement.
The attack comes just days after the separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for a violent ambush on a prison van in Kalat district on Sunday. In that incident, 30 to 40 armed militants blocked a key highway late Friday night and intercepted a police-escorted prison transport vehicle. While the prisoners were later freed, five police officers were taken hostage, a senior police official told news agency AFP.
Security forces launched a rescue operation following the abduction. During the confrontation, militants set fire to multiple government buildings and a bank in the area. Two insurgents were reportedly killed during the clashes.
The mineral-rich province of Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has long been a hotbed of separatist activity. Militants routinely target security personnel, government infrastructure and foreign-funded projects, particularly those involving Chinese investment.
The BLA, the most active insurgent faction in the region, also carried out a high-profile hijacking of a passenger train in March, killing several off-duty security personnel in a deadly standoff.
In a related attack last month, a roadside bomb in Quetta killed four security personnel and injured three others.