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The Financial Express

Twenty militants, nine soldiers killed in Pakistan clashes

| Updated: February 07, 2022 16:17:39


Relatives of Captain Bilal Khalil, who was killed along with others in an attack on a military base in Nushki, comforting each other during his funeral in Faisalabad of Pakistan on February 4 this year –Reuters file photo Relatives of Captain Bilal Khalil, who was killed along with others in an attack on a military base in Nushki, comforting each other during his funeral in Faisalabad of Pakistan on February 4 this year –Reuters file photo

Twenty militants and nine soldiers were killed in recent days during insurgent attacks on two military bases in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province and the military's response, the military said on Saturday.

The attacks, the biggest in recent years by ethnic Baloch insurgents, began on Wednesday night, reports Reuters.

“A total of 20 militants were killed during Panjgur and Nauski operations. Security forces have completed the clearance operation today,” said a statement by the Pakistan military’s media wing.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which had earlier claimed the attack, also issued a statement on Saturday night saying “all targets successfully achieved.” 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's 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.

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