Baloch Republican Guards Claim Attack on Karachi Gas Pipeline
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Quetta, March 12 (NationPress) The Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) claimed responsibility for the sabotage of a significant gas pipeline that channels fuel from Balochistan's Sui gas field to Karachi, as reported by local media.
In an official statement, BRG spokesperson Dostain Baloch indicated that the group's operatives executed an attack on a 36-inch diameter gas pipeline on Wednesday evening, near the Kashmore area in the Sindh province of Pakistan, using explosive devices.
The spokesperson elaborated that the explosion inflicted substantial damage to the pipeline responsible for transporting natural gas from Sui to Karachi.
Emphasizing its opposition to what the BRG defines as the exploitation of Balochistan's natural resources, the group issued a warning that it would persist in targeting such operations, as stated by The Balochistan Post.
In a separate event, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) executed a series of assaults against Pakistani military personnel in the Tump region of Balochistan, resulting in the deaths of 15 soldiers.
According to a statement shared with the media, BLF spokesperson Major Gwahram Baloch reported that the group's fighters conducted a coordinated strike on March 8 in the Apsi Kahn vicinity near Tump.
The statement detailed that multiple BLF units surrounded two sections of a Pakistani military checkpoint situated at the Apsi Kahn and Shapchar junction, executing the attack utilizing mortars, sniper rifles, rockets, light machine guns, and grenade launchers.
The group asserted that the initial attack persisted for around an hour, resulting in six Pakistani soldiers' deaths and several injuries, alongside significant damage to the military post.
The BLF further noted that the operation expanded to include synchronized assaults on three additional military checkpoints between Apsi Kahn and Shapchar, leading to the deaths of five more soldiers and multiple injuries, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
The spokesperson additionally claimed that a quadcopter drone deployed by Pakistani forces to monitor the attackers' locations was downed by BLF fighters during the operation.
They also reported that BLF fighters detonated an improvised explosive device (IED), resulting in the destruction of a vehicle and the deaths of four additional soldiers, as a Pakistani military unit attempted to retrieve bodies and evacuate the injured between Abdoui and Shapchar.
Moreover, the group stated that on March 9, its fighters ignited two gas tanker trucks at the Josak Buleda Cross area near Turbat after allegedly slashing their tires. These tankers were purportedly transporting gas for industrial use in Pakistan's Punjab province.
These recent incidents occur amid a rise in attacks by Baloch militant groups targeting Pakistani military and police forces across Balochistan, resulting in significant casualties and infrastructure damage.