Quetta (Balochistan), July 12 (NVI) Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed to have killed 34 operatives of the so-called ‘Death Squad’, a proxy militia of the Pakistani military, and other associates in the July 8 attack on residence-cum-central command of its chief Shafiq Mengal.
“The majority of these eliminated elements consisted of individuals directly involved in the murder, abduction, brutal torture, enforced disappearance, and targeted killing of Baloch political activists, students, and Baloch citizens,” BLA spokesman Jeeyand Baloch said in a statement to NVI.
He said several police and Levies personnel present at the site were also killed by the fedayeen during the operation.
“The casualties and losses of intelligence officers, ISIS operatives, and former Afghan military personnel killed in this BLA operation are being deliberately concealed to cover up this criminal nexus operating on the ground,” he said.
This ‘Operation Murg-e-Ghadaran’ was executed by the BLA’s fidayeen (self-sacrificing) wing, the ‘Majeed Brigade’ in Khuzdar in Balochistan at a time when Mengal, alias Shafiq Laghor, was engaged in a meeting with key members of his outfit and “external terrorist networks”.
“According to authentic information gathered by the BLA’s intelligence wing, “ZIRAB,” this compound of Shafiq Laghor had long been used as a facilitation center against the Baloch national movement,” the spokesman said.
“At the time of the attack, a joint meeting involving intelligence officers of the occupying state of Pakistan, the international terrorist organization ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and former Afghan soldiers was underway.
“The objective of this meeting was to organize religious extremism against the Baloch national movement in occupied Balochistan and to mobilize new armed networks against Baloch political activists,” the spokesman said.
The ZIRAB wing maintained strict surveillance over the activities of this entire network for several weeks, and upon confirming the acquisition of the target, the Majeed Brigade was granted approval for the operation, he said.
Giving details, he said the first phase of the operation was carried out by 10 suicide attackers of the Majeed Brigade.
“The operation commenced when a fedaee comrade rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the main gate of Shafiq Laghor’s house, reducing the outer security perimeter and checkpoints to rubble within seconds and instantly killing nearly a dozen armed guards stationed there, with the total number being approximately 20,” the BLA spokesman said.
“Immediately following this initial blast, another fedaee comrade fought diligently to breach the inner building of the compound and detonated the suicide vest strapped to his body, completely shattering the inner defensive line and paralyzing the enemy’s command.
“After these two explosions, the remaining 8 fedayeen successfully took up positions inside the compound and opened fire on the armed operatives with automatic weapons, officially initiating close-quarter clashes,” he said.
“This intense battle continued uninterrupted for over four hours, during which the fedayeen cleared various sections of the compound, killing 34 armed operatives of Shafiq Laghor’s death squad,” he said.
Jeeyand Baloch said the targeted and deceased individuals were undercover intelligence operatives of Pakistan, masked as normal government employees.
“They were regular criminal pawns of Shafiq’s private death squad, serving as his personal employees and armed bodyguards rather than fulfilling official duties, making them equally complicit in his crimes,” he added.
The BLA spokesman said Shafiq manaed to flee from the compound using a secret underground passage, leaving his wounded and dying associates writhing in pain.
“The voices of Shafiq Laghor and his operatives crying in terror and screaming for help could be clearly heard by the fedayeen from inside the compound.
“In a state of extreme panic, he hid in the rearmost section of his own house, from where he shouted profanities and curses at his armed operatives, ordering them to go out and confront the fedayeen, while simultaneously making frantic phone calls to some “Colonel Sahb,” pleading for immediate reinforcement,” Jeeyand Baloch said.
“On the other hand, instead of obeying their master’s orders, his salaried operatives cowered in the inner rooms of the compound to save their lives or fled barefoot toward the back alleys.
“The state of these fleeing operatives was such that they threw down their weapons and were shot in the back by the fedayeen while trying to escape,” he said.
“Following Shafiq Laghor’s escape, the fedayeen assumed complete control of the compound and thoroughly wiped out all remaining elements,” he added.
The BLA lost three fighters in the operation, he said.
“During this lengthy operation, 3 brave fedayeen of the Majeed Brigade managed to penetrate deep into the residential block of Shafiq Laghor despite the enemy’s intense siege.
“They single-handedly confronted the heavy numbers of the enemy for four hours, and when their ammunition neared exhaustion, rather than dying by the bullets of the occupying forces or the death squad, or facing arrest, they adhered to the BLA’s historic ‘philosophy of the last bullet,’ embracing martyrdom with their own final rounds and sacrificing themselves for the freedom of the motherland,” he said.
“On the other hand, once the clearance operation inside the compound concluded and the objective was achieved, the BLA High Command issued directives for the remaining fedayin to terminate the operation and withdraw safely.
“The remaining 5 brave fedayeen (including one wounded comrade) successfully and with extreme ease breached their way through the strict sieges and cordons established inside Khuzdar city and around the compound by the army, Frontier Corps, ATF, police, and the fugitive death squad, retreating entirely at their own will to reach their safe havens securely,” the BLA spokesman said. (NVI)
