The search for insurgents who had attacked two military bases, martyring seven soldiers and killing 13 of their own, in the latest violence in Balochistan entered a third day early Saturday.
At least three militants were killed by security forces and six were injured in a grenade attack in two attacks on Friday.
“At least three militants, including two ‘high-value targets’, were killed in a clearance operation conducted in Kech district to flush out militants from hideouts linked to Wednesday’s attacks on military bases in Balochistan,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said late Friday.
In another attack, at Chaman, a town bordering Afghanistan at least six people were injured in a grenade attack at a para-military post.
The Wednesday attacks, the biggest in recent years by militant groups active in the province, came hours before Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympics, where he will have meetings with President Xi Jinping and other leaders.
Two security officials, requesting anonymity as they are not permitted to speak publicly, said the operation was not yet over.
“The army is conducting search operations in the area. There might be some more elements hiding in the surroundings,” one official told Reuters.
The army said the attacks were simultaneous and coordinated.
“They used explosive-laden vehicles at gates, they have the latest weaponry left behind by NATO forces,” Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, Minister of Interior said on Friday, adding the attack was defeated and both bases were under the control of the military.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) group said it was behind the attacks in a statement sent to a Reuters reporter, adding that one of the two bases was still under its control after 38 hours. This could not immediately be verified independently.
Last week, the militants martyred 10 soldiers in an attack on a post near the port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, the heaviest casualty toll for the army in its fight against militancy in years.
Islamabad blamed arch-rival India for sponsoring terrorism inside Pakistan and said such groups use neighbouring Afghanistan to plan attacks.
— With input from Reuters
