QUETTA (PAKISTAN): In one of the deadliest waves of coordinated militant violence to strike Pakistan’s southwestern province, 18 police officers and 11 army personnel have been killed following separate insurgent ambushes and intense firefights across Balochistan.

The military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), confirmed that the casualties occurred over a multi-day span of escalating engagements between security forces and banned militant factions, primarily the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).

The heaviest losses for law enforcement took place in the remote, mountainous Ziarat district. A large group of heavily armed militants launched what authorities described as a "multidirectional attack" on a strategic police check post guarding the Mangi Dam project.

During the initial overnight assault, police forces fought back fiercely, killing 15 militants before the attackers temporarily overran the outpost. Nine officers were initially killed, and several surviving personnel were taken hostage.

Following the siege, army reinforcements, the Frontier Corps, and additional law enforcement agencies immediately launched a massive containment operation to hunt down the attackers in the surrounding rugged terrain. Over days of subsequent intense combat and hostage rescue efforts, additional 18 police personnel lost their lives, alongside 11 terrorists eliminated during the counter-operation.

Simultaneously, tragedy struck an army convoy traveling along the N-25 highway. Insurgents belonging to the outlawed BLA laid a deadly ambush, opening fire on the military vehicles.

According to ISPR Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the convoy engagement resulted in the martyrdom of 11 army personnel—comprising one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and 10 soldiers. Security forces retaliated heavily at the scene, killing 14 militants during the firefight.

The government and top military leadership have strongly condemned the surge in violence, expressing deep sorrow over the loss of security personnel who laid down their lives protecting infrastructure and civilian areas.

"Our security forces remain determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from Balochistan," stated Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry. "The blood of our martyrs will not go in vain."

Intelligence-based retaliatory operations are actively ongoing in the Kharan, Dalbandin, and Ziarat districts to eliminate the remaining networks responsible for coordinating these brazen assaults. Heavy security protocols have been established across the province's major transport routes as law enforcement aims to restore stability.