The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 14 Pakistani soldiers in the Machkund area of Bolan district, according to a statement released by the separatist group. This marks the second major offensive against Pakistani security forces in the past 24 hours.
According to the BLA statement, their Special Tactical Operations Squad targeted a Pakistani military vehicle using a remote-controlled explosive device. The attack reportedly killed all soldiers in the vehicle, including Special Operations Commander Tariq Imran and Subedar Umar Farooq.
The incident comes amid a significant escalation in the decades-long insurgency in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan. The resource-rich region has witnessed increasing militant activity in recent months.
The BLA, founded around 2000, has intensified its operations in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province since early 2025. The group seeks independence for the Balochistan region, claiming economic exploitation of local resources and marginalization by the Pakistani state.
The BLA has been designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan, China, Iran, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. The group primarily targets Pakistani security forces, infrastructure projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and what it considers “settler” populations from other parts of Pakistan.
The insurgency has shown increasing sophistication in its tactics, notably demonstrated in March 2025 when BLA militants hijacked the Jaffar Express passenger train carrying more than 400 passengers. That incident resulted in dozens of casualties and a major security operation to free the hostages.
Security analysts note that the BLA has adopted increasingly lethal tactics, including suicide bombings, improvised explosive devices, and complex coordinated attacks across multiple locations.
The Baloch Liberation Army, also known as Balochistan Ajooyi Lashkar, is considered a resurgence of earlier Baloch insurgencies dating back to the 1970s. The group primarily operates from safe havens in southern Afghanistan, according to security experts.
The organization’s structure is cell-based, with leadership often operating from exile. It has several factions, including a suicide squad known as the Majeed Brigade, which has been responsible for some of the group’s deadliest attacks.
Notable past operations include attacks on the Chinese consulate in Karachi (2018), a luxury hotel in Gwadar (2019), the Pakistan Stock Exchange (2020), and the Jaffar Express train hijacking (2025).