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dpa
Islamabad
Armed militants stormed Pakistani army bases in the province of Balochistan on Thursday, killing seven soldiers and more than a dozen attackers in gun battles that lasted several hours, the military said.
The rebels from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of several nationalist militant groups seeking to liberate their province, attacked army bases in the regions of Naushki and Panjgur, a statement from the military said.
The raids started at different times around midnight on Wednesday and were still ongoing at around 4 pm local time, intelligence sources told dpa.
The army said nine rebels were killed in Naushki while another four died in Panjgur.
The BLA claimed to have killed around 100 soldiers. It was not possible to independently verify these claims as the region is inaccessible to journalists.
The attacks occurred just days after gunmen overran a military checkpoint in the same region, killing 10 soldiers.
Most of the violence is seen as reaction to Beijing’s investment plans in the region that seek to link China’s Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea in Balochistan through a network of roads and rail tracks.
The proposed 60-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor plan is meant to give Beijing access to markets in Middle East, Europe and Africa through the shortest overland and sea route.
Islamabad
Armed militants stormed Pakistani army bases in the province of Balochistan on Thursday, killing seven soldiers and more than a dozen attackers in gun battles that lasted several hours, the military said.
The rebels from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of several nationalist militant groups seeking to liberate their province, attacked army bases in the regions of Naushki and Panjgur, a statement from the military said.
The raids started at different times around midnight on Wednesday and were still ongoing at around 4 pm local time, intelligence sources told dpa.
The army said nine rebels were killed in Naushki while another four died in Panjgur.
The BLA claimed to have killed around 100 soldiers. It was not possible to independently verify these claims as the region is inaccessible to journalists.
The attacks occurred just days after gunmen overran a military checkpoint in the same region, killing 10 soldiers.
Most of the violence is seen as reaction to Beijing’s investment plans in the region that seek to link China’s Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea in Balochistan through a network of roads and rail tracks.
The proposed 60-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor plan is meant to give Beijing access to markets in Middle East, Europe and Africa through the shortest overland and sea route.
