A suicide truck bombing has ripped through a Pakistan Coast Guard camp in the Panwan area of Jiwani, near Gwadar in Balochistan, with the Balochistan Liberation Army claiming it killed more than 30 Pakistani security personnel in the assault. The group has claimed direct responsibility for the attack on the camp.
Explosives laden truck driven into the camp
According to the Balochistan Liberation Army, the attack took place on Friday evening and was carried out by its Majeed Brigade. The group says a suicide bomber identified as Ataullah Baloch, also known as Ajmal, drove a truck packed with explosives into the heavily guarded coast guard camp at around 6:32 pm local time. The resulting explosion was massive, and a large section of the camp was reduced to rubble within moments.
Ground assault caught on camera
The group's media wing, Hakkal, released a 43 second video of the incident, showing the explosives laden truck entering the camp moments before the blast. The Balochistan Liberation Army says subsequent footage shows a significant portion of the military camp destroyed. Immediately after the truck bombing, its Fateh Squad launched a simultaneous ground assault. The group claims its fighters then engaged surviving coast guard personnel in close quarters combat, killing more than 30 security personnel during the operation, while several others were wounded.
A banned group's long fight for Balochistan
The Balochistan Liberation Army has for years been fighting to separate Balochistan from Pakistan. The Pakistani government considers the group a terrorist organisation and has banned it, while the Balochistan Liberation Army describes itself as a separatist movement fighting for Balochistan's independence. The group alleges that Pakistan's government has consistently treated Balochistan unfairly, extracting the region's natural resources while failing to invest in its development. This grievance is central to why the Balochistan Liberation Army periodically carries out major attacks on Pakistani security forces, and the assault in Gwadar marks the latest chapter in that long running conflict.
