Army soldiers hold their guns to pay tribute to Captain Bilal Khalil, who was killed along with others in an attack on a military base in Nushki, during his funeral in Faisalabad, Pakistan, February 4, 2022. REUTERS/Fayyaz Hussain
QUETTA, Pakistan 鈥� Twenty militants and nine soldiers were killed in recent days during insurgent attacks on two military bases in Pakistan鈥檚 southwestern Balochistan province and the military鈥檚 response, the military said on Saturday.
The attacks, the biggest in recent years by ethnic Baloch insurgents, began on Wednesday night.
鈥淎 total of 20 militants were killed during Panjgur and Nauski operations. Security forces have completed the clearance operation today,鈥� said a statement by military鈥檚 media wing.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which had earlier claimed the attack, also issued a statement on Saturday night saying 鈥渁ll targets successfully achieved.鈥� It said 16 fighters sacrificed themselves in the attacks, a phrasing that indicated but did not say clearly that they had died.
Ethnic Baloch guerrillas have been fighting the government for decades, demanding a separate state and saying the central government unfairly exploits Balochistan鈥檚 rich gas and mineral resources.
Last week, the army said insurgents killed 10 soldiers in an attack on a post near the port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, the heaviest death toll for the army in the Balochistan insurgency in years.