Militants attacked a police post in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province overnight, killing nine police officers and injuring several others, officials said Tuesday, as violence continues to escalate in the restive region.
The attack took place in a remote area of Ziarat district, where dozens of armed militants stormed the police post, triggering a fierce gunbattle, police said.
During the assault, the attackers abducted eight police officers. However, all of them were later rescued during a security operation, according to Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind.
Rind said security forces later carried out a clearance operation in the area, killing 15 militants. He added that intelligence-based operations against militant groups would continue and vowed a strong response to future attacks on security personnel.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault. However, suspicion is likely to fall on the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has been behind a series of attacks in the province.
The BLA recently claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a security post in the coastal town of Jiwani over the weekend, although the government has not confirmed the claim.
Authorities also said armed men attacked civilians on the outskirts of Quetta during the weekend. Since then, local residents have been staging a sit-in near the city, demanding better security and stronger protection from future attacks.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi blamed the latest assault on what he described as Indian-backed militants, although he did not provide any evidence to support the allegation. India has repeatedly rejected Pakistan's claims that it supports separatist groups in Balochistan or the Pakistani Taliban.
Naqvi paid tribute to the slain police officers and expressed condolences to their families, saying such attacks would not undermine peace efforts.
The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also maintains a presence in Balochistan and has carried out several attacks in the province.
Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but least populated province, has long faced separatist insurgencies and militant violence. The BLA, which the United States designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2019, has carried out numerous attacks on security forces and civilians in recent years.