Seven Pakistani soldiers killed in IED blast in Balochistan: Pak military

Seven Pakistan army soldiers were killed on Tuesday when their vehicle was reportedly struck by an improvised explosive device in the troubled southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan's military said in a statement.

Pakistan put the blame of the attack on India, which has yet to respond to the allegations.

Pakistan's military said members of the Baloch Liberation Army, which it described as an "Indian proxy", targeted its vehicle with an improvised explosive device in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, according to Reuters.

This come days after a separatist militant group in Balochistan claimed responsibility for an attack on a prison van on Sunday, during which five police officers were taken hostage.

According to a police official, between 30 and 40 armed militants blocked a key highway in Balochistan province late Friday night, intercepting the police-escorted prison transport.

"The prisoners were later freed, but five police officers were abducted," said a senior police official who spoke to AFP news agency on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorised to speak to the media. A rescue operation is currently underway.

The attackers also set fire to several government buildings and a bank in the area.

A senior government official, also speaking anonymously, reported that two of the militants were killed by security forces during the confrontation.

Pakistan has long struggled with a separatist insurgency in Balochistan, a mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran. Militants there frequently target state personnel, foreign nationals, and settlers from other regions.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active separatist group in the region, claimed responsibility for the latest attack in Kalat district. The BLA has previously targeted infrastructure and energy projects with foreign investment, particularly those backed by China.

In a similar incident in March, the group hijacked a passenger train, taking hundreds hostage and killing off-duty security personnel during a three-day standoff.

In April this year, a powerful roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying security personnel in Pakistan’s restive southwest on Friday, killing four troops and wounding three others, police had said. The attack occurred in Quetta, the capital of the Balochistan province.