Convoy of Chinese engineers attacked in Pakistan’s Gwadar

Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) separatists attacked a convoy carrying Chinese engineers to the Beijing-financed Gwadar Port in Pakistan's southwest on Sunday, the group said.

Various Baloch militant groups have claimed attacks on projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in the past, with thousands of security personnel deployed to counter threats against Beijing's interests.

"BLA Majeed Brigade today targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers in Gwadar. The attack is still ongoing," the separatist group said in a statement.

Security sources confirmed an attack, but there was no immediate official response.

However, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, a senator and former provincial interior minister, said on Twitter, now rebranded as X, that no Chinese nationals were killed in the attack.

"I strongly condemn the heinous terror attack on Chinese workers convoy in Gwadar," he posted.

"Thankfully, no loss of life happened, but there are reports that the ambush has been repulsed and the attackers have been killed."

State Radio Pakistan, citing the military's public relations wing, said the situation was under control.

"One terrorist was killed and three others injured in exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in Gwadar," it said.

Baloch separatists frequently exaggerate their battlefield successes, while the Pakistan military's public relations department also plays down attacks, or delays reporting them.

Three Chinese academics and their Pakistani driver were killed when a woman suicide bomber detonated her device as they were driving into the University of Karachi's Confucius Institute in April 2022.

The BLA claimed responsibility for that attack.

Agence France-Presse