Baloch insurgents release first visuals of attack on Pakistan military convoy

Hours after the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed to have killed 90 Pakistani military personnel in an attack on a convoy, its special forces unit, the Majeed Brigade, released the first visuals of the attack. The attack footage, released by both the BLA and the Pakistani military, showed how the vehicles were completely destroyed in southwestern Pakistan’s Noshki in the Balochistan province, nearly 150 kilometres away from Quetta.

The Majeed Brigade, along with another BLA’s unit, Fateh Squad, targeted a military convoy, comprising eight buses, one of which was completely destroyed in the explosion, said the BLA in an official statement earlier in the day.

On the other hand, the Pakistani army claimed that only seven of its soldiers were killed and 21 injured after their convoy en route from Quetta to Taftan was attacked. An IED-laden vehicle hit one of the buses, causing it to explode in what the Pakistani Army called as “a suicide attack.” Another bus was hit by Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs).

“A security forces convoy travelling from Quetta to Taftan was attacked. The convoy, consisting of seven buses and two vehicles, was targeted. One of the buses was hit by a vehicle loaded with IEDs, possibly a suicide attack, while another was targeted by Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs),” said a Pakistani official in a statement.

The BLA, in its official statement, further claimed that the Fateh Squad approached the convoy following the explosion, surrounding it subsequently and “systematically eliminating all military personnel on board.”

Condemning the attacks, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that the convoy had seven buses and two cars and expressed grief over the loss of lives of Pakistani soldiers.