Militants kill 9 police officers in attack on post in southwest Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Dozens of militants attacked a police post overnight in southwestern Pakistan, triggering an intense gunbattle that killed nine police officers and wounded some others, officials said Tuesday in the latest escalation of militant violence in the region where insurgents have stepped up attacks on security forces.

The attack took place in a remote area of Ziarat district in Balochistan province, police said, without providing further details. The assailants also abducted eight police officers, but all were later recovered by security forces, said Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan government.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attack, though suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army.

The BLA claimed responsibility for a weekend suicide attack on a security post in the coastal town of Jiwani, though the government has neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

Authorities, however, acknowledged that armed men attacked civilians on the outskirts of Quetta city over the weekend. Since then, villagers have staged a sit-in near Quetta, demanding better security and protection against future attacks.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi blamed the latest attack on what he described as Indian-backed militants. He provided no evidence to support the allegation. India has repeatedly denied Pakistan’s accusations that it backs separatists in Balochistan or Pakistani Taliban militants.

His statement also paid tribute to the officers who died and offered condolences to the victims’ families, saying that such attacks "cannot sabotage peace.”

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, also maintain a strong presence in Balochistan and have carried out attacks there.

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