In a morale booster for its cadre, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has released a statement detailing its massive, coordinated suicide attack on the fortified compound of ISIS-K commander Shafiq Mengal in Pakistan’s Khuzdar city last week, claiming to have killed 34 operatives, including terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba besides Islamic State.In the statement, which stands out for its confident undertone, the rebel group claimed responsibility for the operation – which involved vehicle-borne explosives and a team of suicide bombers – framing it as the official commencement of a broader offensive named “Operation Murg-e-Ghadaran”.The attack took place during a gathering at the compound that included Pakistani intelligence officials, operatives from international militant networks, including ISIS and LeT, and former Afghan soldiers, who were reportedly meeting to coordinate efforts against the Baloch political movement, the BLA revealed in its statement. This has yet again exposed the proximity between Pakistan’s ISI and Islamic State factions that are being used to quell the Baloch freedom struggle.Falsely accusing India’s hand in the incident, Mengal, who survived the attack, said that 17 of his associates, who were having a meal, were killed in an explosion. He said the attackers later engaged in an armed clash with those inside the compound. The assault was executed by BLA’s specialised self-sacrificing wing Majeed Brigade. The operation was allegedly set in motion following weeks of strict surveillance by BLA’s intelligence wing Zirab, which tracked a high-level meeting.BLA asserted that 34 people killed in the firefight were primary members of Mengal’s private network, whom they accused of direct involvement in targeted killings, abductions and enforced disappearances of Baloch political activists and students.
