Pakistan military says insurgents killed 18 abducted policemen and 11 soldiers in separate attacks

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Insurgents killed 18 police officers who had been abducted earlier this week and 11 soldiers in a separate attack in restive southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, the military said.

It was the latest escalation of violence in a region where insurgents have stepped up attacks on security forces and civilians.

The latest attacks bring the death toll since Monday to 42 people, most of them soldiers and police officers, military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said.

At a televised news conference, he said security forces had also killed 54 insurgents in multiple operations during the same period.

Chaudhry said the 18 officers had been held captive since late Monday, when dozens of militants attacked a police post in Ziarat district in Balochistan province, killing nine other police officers. He said the attackers belonged to what the government calls “Fitna al-Khawarij,” a term it uses for the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, or BLA, which Pakistan alleges is backed by India. India denies supporting insurgent groups in Pakistan.

Chaudhry said insurgents have targeted civilians and security forces in several areas since Monday.

The 11 soldiers killed Wednesday died when insurgents ambushed their vehicle on a highway in Balochistan, he said.

His remarks came days after the BLA claimed responsibility for a wave of attacks on security forces in Balochistan, where the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, also maintain a strong presence.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populous province, has long been the scene of a separatist insurgency as well as attacks by the Pakistani Taliban. The BLA, which the United States designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2019, has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks targeting security forces and civilians in the province in recent years.

The Associated Press