10 Pakistani soldiers killed after check post attack in Balochistan

Ten Pakistan army soldiers were slain after terrorists attacked their Kech district checkpost in the southwestern province of Balochistan, according to a statement by the army on Thursday.

The statement was released by the media wing of the army, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The ISPR stated that a terrorist-led “fire raid” occurred during the late hours of January 25-26. The firing killed 10 soldiers and injured several others.

The statement read, “During intense exchange of fire, one terrorist was killed and several injured. While repulsing terrorists’ fire raid, 10 soldiers embraced martyrdom.”

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The statement further added, “Armed forces are determined to eliminate terrorists from our soil no matter what the cost.”

No terrorist organisation has taken accountability for the attack yet, although the country’s armed forces have been fighting against an ethnic Baloch separatist movement for a decade.

 Attacks against security forces have been quite common in the region, with the recent incident being the second attack of this month.

 According to a military statement, two rankers were killed on December 24 by unidentified gunmen in a checkpost in Kech.

Balochistan is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. It borders Iran and Afghanistan.

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The province has been under long-running insurgency, with insurgent groups being known to target attacks towards China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

On January 5, two army soldiers and terrorists were killed in two separate operations known as IBOs, by armed forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, abbreviated as KP.

 On January 21, Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, spoke about the army fighting against terrorists until every single one is eliminated from Pakistan, according to Dawn, an English language Pakistani newspaper.

The General also assured that lost military lives will not go in vain and the country will go back to “complete peace.”

Balochistan is the country’s largest yet least populated region, with isolated mountainous lands. For many years, the province has had one of the lowest rankings on the national human development indicator.