Pak Army soldier, 4 Baloch militants killed in attack on naval base in Balochistan

A Pakistan Army soldier was killed while four attackers belonging to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were eliminated after they tried to infiltrate into one of the main naval air bases in the Balochistan province, PTI reported.

According to the report, Pakistan security forces foiled an armed militant attack by BLA’s Majeed Brigade at the PNS Siddique Naval Air Base in turbulent Turbat district in the Pakistani province.

“The armed men attacked from three sides of the airport boundary, but security forces responded immediately and foiled their attempt to infiltrate the premises,” Makran Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Umrani was quoted by PTI as saying.

According to the Pakistan Army, Baloch militants on the night of March 25-26 attempted an attack on the PNS Siddique Naval Air Base. But the attack was thwarted.

“Security forces in the vicinity were immediately mobilized to support the naval troops. Synergetic and effective response by the armed forces enabled the killing of all four terrorists in ensuing joint clearance operation,” the army said.

A 24-year-old Sepoy of the paramilitary Frontier Corps Balochistan was killed in action. The Army carried out a sanitisation operation to eliminate any other attacker found in the area.

This is the third major attack on security forces and installations this year in Balochistan claimed by the BLA with the first two attacks being also being repulsed by security forces.

Earlier in the year, security forces were attacked in Mach town in which at least ten people were killed but attempts to breach the Mach jail were thwarted by security forces.

On March 24, the BLA also claimed responsibility for an attack on the Gwadar Port Authority Complex. Security forces had killed eight militants of the banned separatist group in the gunfire.

Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting the USD 60 billion CPEC projects. The BLA accuses China and Islamabad of exploitation of the resource-rich province, a charge rejected by the authorities.