Quetta, Oct 21 (IANS) The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for 34 operations carried out in Pakistan's Balochistan province from October 9-20, claiming lives of Pakistani military personnel and military operatives and capture of a serving Pakistani soldier, local media reported on Wednesday.

In a statement, BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch said that the deceased included 14 Pakistani military personnel and nine people, which the group said were serving as Military Intelligence (MI) operatives, informants and members of state-backed armed groups. He further mentioned that BLA fighters blocked highways and carried out inspections in the vehicle under the group's policy of "economic blockade", The Balochistan Post reported.

According to the statement, three Pakistani military personnel were killed, four seriously injured, and their vehicle "was completely destroyed" after BLA fighters attacked a military vehicle using an IED in Shahrag area of Balochistan's Harnai on October 13.

The BLA said that three Pakistani military personnel were killed and two others injured in an ambush in the Dasht area of Balochistan's Kech on October 16. It claimed that one Pakistani soldier was killed and another injured after BLA fighters targeted personnel advancing to protect military convoys in Zoomdan on October 15.

The BLA claimed that two Pakistani personnel were killed and two military vehicles were severely damaged after its fighters targeted Pakistani forces in Mastung on October 14. According to the statement, one Pakistani soldier was killed in a sniper attack near Gurgina Grid Station in Mastung and another in Manguchar on October 16. One Pakistani soldier was killed and another injured after the group conducted attack in Dali area of Kharan.

The BLA claimed that bomb disposal team's one member was killed in an IED attack in Surab on October 20 while one soldier was killed and three others were injured and a military vehicle destroyed in a blast in Chagai. The BLA claimed responsibility for attacks on a convoy of military and commercial vehicles near Simba Bridge in Khuzdar on October 14 and forces advancing in Baghbana on October 17. The group said that the fighters captured one Pakistani military personnel after the BLA controlled the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Khuzdar for three hours on October 18.

The group said two supply vehicles were seized and one person was detained when the BLA fighters took control of Star Chowk in Tasp for four hours on Monday night. The BLA claimed that Pakistani forces and members of what it described as state-backed armed groups were killed or injured when they tried to move towards the area.

The BLA said two commercial vehicles were seized at Karodak in Dalbandin while three more commercial vehicles were seized at the same location on October 17. It said that the group continued to block Tarez area for over two hours and seized military rations from a passenger coach, The Balochistan Post reported.

The group also claimed responsibility for blowing up the Panki post in Killa Abdullah and the Yakmach police station in Chagai on October 15. The BLA said its fighters confiscated a police vehicle and weapons in Mahi Peer area of Lasbela, while the Pakistani forces, which tried to advance into the area, were attacked by the group's fighters, causing casualties and damage.

The BLA took responsibility for killing nine people who the group said were working for Pakistan's military intelligence or state-backed armed groups, The Balochistan Post reported.

According to the statement, six BLA fighters were killed in separate incidents in August and September. The BLA vowed to continue the armed struggle "with full intensity and strength” until the establishment of an "independent and sovereign Balochistan."

--IANS

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