Police say 18 Pakistan paramilitaries killed in ambush

Eighteen paramilitaries were killed and three others seriously wounded in an attack in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, police and local officials told AFP on Saturday.

A vehicle "carrying unarmed Frontier Corps paramilitaries" near the town of Mangochar "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 overnight attack killed 17 of the passengers and a paramilitary who came to their aid, he said, confirming reports from local sources.

Three other paramilitaries were seriously wounded and two escaped unharmed, he said.

Security forces have been battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence for decades in impoverished but mineral-rich Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

There has been an increase in attacks in the volatile province in recent months, with six people killed in a bombing in January claimed by the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

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

The militants have 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 claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks by dozens of assailants in August that killed at least 39 people, one of the highest tolls in the region.

A similarly dramatic uptick in attacks has also been witnessed elsewhere in Pakistan in recent months, including in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

In 2024 alone, the military reported 383 soldiers and 925 militants killed in various clashes.