Sawt Falasteen - Pakistan separatist militants kill 18 paramilitaries in ambush

The attack was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army, a group behind rising violence in Balochistan province that borders Afghanistan and Iran.

A vehicle carrying unarmed border troops "came under gunfire from 70 to 80 armed assailants who had blocked the road", a police official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said 17 troops were killed, along with another who came to their aid in the overnight attack on Friday near Mangochar, a city close to the Afghan border.

The military said 18 paramilitaries were killed as they responded to militants who "attempted to establish roadblocks", while 12 attackers were killed.

The BLA said in a statement it had killed 17 troops and had carried out multiple "operations".

Attacks have increased in Balochistan province in recent months, often against security forces.

The BLA frequently claims deadly attacks against security forces or Pakistanis from other provinces, notably Punjabis in Balochistan.

The group has also targeted energy projects with foreign financing -- most notably from China -- accusing outsiders of exploiting the resource-rich region while excluding residents in the poorest part of Pakistan.

In November, the BLA claimed responsibility for a bombing at Quetta's main railway station that killed 26 people, including 14 soldiers.

The group also said it was behind coordinated attacks by dozens of assailants in August that killed at least 39 people, one of the highest tolls in the region.

Violence has surged in Pakistan's border regions since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.

Pakistan has accused the Taliban government of failing to rout out militants who launch attacks from Afghan soil, a charge it denies.

More than 1,600 people were killed in attacks in 2024 -- the deadliest year in almost a decade -- including 685 civil and military security forces, according to the Center for Research and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based analysis group.

P.Tamimi--SF-PST