ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed 27 militants in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Monday, in the latest incident in the insurgency-hit region.
The militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Kacchi district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
The deceased had been involved in militant activities against security forces as well as innocent civilians and were “highly wanted” by the law enforcement agencies.
“Multiple hideouts, including caches of arms, ammunition and explosives, were also destroyed during the operation,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by landmass and rich in mineral resources, has long faced a low-level insurgency led by separatist groups, who accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper, while neglecting the local population.
Successive Pakistani governments have denied the allegations, saying they prioritized Balochistan’s development through investments in health, education and infrastructure projects.
On Monday, a roadside bomb blast killed one person in Balochistan’s Turbat district, while dozens of ethnic Baloch separatists last week entered Zehri town in the Khuzdar district and seized control of its main market, setting government properties on fire and robbing Rs768,000 ($2,745) from a private bank.
Footage and pictures seen by Arab News showed armed fighters roaming the streets of the town after seizing weapons, vehicles and motorbikes from the Levies paramilitary force. The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Security forces reclaimed the town following skirmishes with the militants, during which one soldier was injured. Provincial authorities later sacked 15 Levies personnel for showing “cowardice” by surrendering to armed militants, according to a government notification.
Violence by Baloch separatist factions, primarily the BLA, killed about 300 people last year, according to official statistics, marking an escalation in the decades-long conflict.