Islamabad: Pak security forces shot dead seven Baloch separatists armed with guns and bombs when they attacked Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar Port Authority Complex, a key to the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The militants stormed the complex in southwestern Baluchistan province which houses offices of different govt departments, intelligence agencies and paramilitary forces, said Saeed Ahmed Umrani, the region’s commissioner.
“Attackers carried out many blasts,” he said, adding that it was followed by an attack with guns. He said the army and police were responding. “I have received reports that seven attackers have been killed,” Umrani added. An army source said that four soldiers were also killed.
The United Nations Department for Safety and Security said “several explosions followed by continuous firing” were reported during the attack. The statement added there were no immediate reports of casualties, elaborating that seven personnel from three UN agencies based in Gwadar and two UN agencies on missions were “safe and accounted for”.
Majeed Brigade, a suicide squad of the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted offices of military intelligence located in the complex. BLA mostly targets security forces and Chinese interests in Pakistan. Intelligence reports suggest it maintains sanctuaries in areas along the Pakistan-Iran border.
The attack on the Gwadar complex follows a fierce terrorist attack on a security check post in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, last week, as the country witnesses a spike in such attacks, resulting in the deaths of several civilians and law enforcement officials.