Twelve terrorists have been eliminated, with many others injured, as security forces responded to multiple attacks across Balochistan, The Dawn reported citing state-run Radio Pakistan on Monday.
“In Balochistan, terrorists have launched cowardly attacks at several locations,” the report stated, without specifying the exact sites of the incidents.
Radio Pakistan added that security forces and law enforcement agencies responded effectively to the assaults, adding that the operation would continue until all terrorists are eliminated.
This development follows a series of armed attacks on Levies and police stations in Mastung, Kalat, Pasni, and Suntsar late Sunday night.
On Monday, the largest of the attacks targeted vehicles from buses to goods trucks on a major highway, killing at least 23 people.
Militant group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) took responsibility in a statement to journalists that claimed many more attacks, including one on a major paramilitary base, though Pakistani authorities have yet to confirm these.
The BLA is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have battled the central government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan's gas and mineral resources. It seeks the expulsion of China and independence for the province.
Rail traffic with Quetta was suspended following blasts on a rail bridge linking the provincial capital to the rest of Pakistan, as well as on a rail link to neighbouring Iran, railways official Muhammad Kashif said.
Police said they had found six as yet unidentified bodies near the site of the attack on the railway bridge.
Officials said militants also targeted police and security stations in Balochistan, which is Pakistan's largest province, killing at least 10 people in one attack.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed that security forces would retaliate and bring those responsible to justice.
General Li Qiaoming, commander of China's People's Liberation Army Ground Forces and Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir met on Monday, though a Pakistani military statement made no mention of the attacks.
"The meeting afforded an opportunity for in-depth discussions on matters of mutual interest, regional security, military training, and measures to further augment bilateral defence cooperation," it said.
(With agency inputs)
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