BLA claims over 30 Pakistani security personnel killed in 'fidayee' attack in Gwadar

The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for a deadly “fidayee” (suicide commando) attack on a Pakistan coast guard camp in the Panwan area of Jiwani in Gwadar. The separatist group claimed that more than 30 Pakistani security personnel were killed and several others injured in the attack, The Balochistan Post reported.According to the report, the attack took place on Friday evening and was carried out by the BLA’s elite Majeed Brigade. The group claimed that a suicide bomber, identified as Attaullah Baloch alias Ajmal, drove an explosive-laden Mazda truck into the heavily guarded Coast Guard camp at around 6.32 pm (local time), causing a massive explosion.In an official statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said, “As a result of this powerful blast, the fortified colonial camp of the Coast Guards was completely turned into a heap of rubble.”The BLA’s media wing, Hakkal, also released a 43-second video that it claimed showed the explosive-filled truck entering the camp just before the blast. The group said later footage showed that a large part of the military camp had been destroyed.The BLA said the truck bombing was followed by a coordinated ground assault by its Fateh Squad.“Immediately after the attack, our organisation’s vanguard unit, the Fateh Squad, advanced rapidly and in an organised manner, launching an assault on the destroyed camp from all sides,” the BLA statement read.The group claimed its fighters then engaged the surviving Coast Guard personnel in close combat and killed more than 30 security personnel during the operation.“Given the critical condition of the injured and the personnel trapped under the rubble, a further increase in the enemy’s casualties is highly likely,” the BLA spokesperson added.The BLA said it would soon release a detailed account of the attack through its official channels. The banned outfit also said its armed campaign against Pakistani security forces would continue “with the same intensity” until it achieves what it called the “complete independence of Balochistan.”Pakistan’s military and government have not yet issued an official statement confirming the casualty figures or the extent of the damage claimed by the BLA.