Pakistan security forces kill 12 militants, thwarting attempted hostage-taking in southwest

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security forces killed at least 12 militants and thwarted an attempted hostage-taking in southwestern Pakistan after assailants attacked a police station, the military said Friday.

In a statement, it said the attackers also targeted two banks and looted millions of rupees (dollars) during the assault in Kharan district of Balochistan province a day earlier. The militants attempted to seize hostages at the police station, but a swift response by security forces forced them to retreat, it said.

The military identified the assailants as “Fitna al-Hindustan,” a phrase the government uses for the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, and other separatist groups. It claimed the attackers, including those killed in the shootouts with security forces, were backed by India, though it provided no evidence. India has repeatedly denied Pakistan’s accusations that it supports separatists in Balochistan or Pakistani Taliban fighters.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in a statement praised the security forces for killing the militants and foiling the attacks by the insurgents in Kharan.

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