Pakistani security forces used drones and helicopters to regain control of a town in the southwestern province of Balochistan after a three day battle with separatist militants, police said on Wednesday, as the death toll from a weekend surge in violence climbed to fifty eight.
The fighting followed a wave of coordinated attacks launched on Saturday by the Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, which authorities described as one of the largest militant operations the group has carried out in recent years.
Security officials said the attacks began before dawn on Saturday, with suicide bombings reported in the desert town of Nushki and the coastal port of Pasni. Gun and grenade attacks followed in at least eleven other locations, including the provincial capital, Quetta.
The violence briefly brought much of Pakistan’s largest province to a standstill as security forces exchanged fire with militants across multiple districts. Officials said one hundred ninety seven insurgents were killed during counter operations over the weekend.
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In Quetta, residents described powerful explosions near key government buildings. Robina Ali, a housewife living close to the main administrative complex, said the blast shook her home. She said she feared the walls and roof would collapse as the explosion echoed through the neighborhood.
In Nushki, a town of roughly fifty thousand people, militants seized a police station and other security installations, triggering a prolonged standoff. Police said seven officers were killed before forces regained control late on Monday.
A security official said reinforcements were deployed as the operation intensified. Helicopters and drones were used to target militant positions before ground forces moved in, the official added. Police shared details on condition of anonymity, citing restrictions on speaking to the media.
Operations against BLA fighters are continuing in other parts of the province, according to security officials.
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Pakistan’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters.
Authorities said the BLA stormed schools, banks, markets, and security facilities across Balochistan during the attacks. More than twenty two members of the security forces and at least thirty six civilians were killed, police said, bringing the total death toll to fifty eight.
The BLA claimed on Tuesday that it had killed two hundred eighty soldiers as part of what it called Operation Herof Black Storm. The group did not provide evidence, and Pakistani officials rejected the claim.
At one point during the fighting, militants advanced to within one kilometer of the provincial chief minister’s office in Quetta, police officials said. Several district administration offices were also briefly seized.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s poorest and most sparsely populated province, borders Iran and Afghanistan and is rich in minerals. It is also central to Chinese backed projects, including the Gwadar deepwater port, which is part of Beijing’s broader regional investment plans.
The province has faced a decades long insurgency led by ethnic Baloch groups seeking greater autonomy and a larger share of local resources. The BLA is considered the strongest of these groups and has repeatedly targeted security forces, infrastructure, and Chinese interests.
