QUETTA – In a dramatic escalation of violence, separatists from Pakistan’s Balochistan region have taken credit for a series of nearly twelve synchronized assaults across southern Pakistan early Saturday. The targets included a high-security prison, police stations, and paramilitary bases. The clashes resulted in the deaths of at least 10 security personnel and 58 insurgents, according to official reports.

While both Baloch separatists and the Pakistani Taliban often engage in attacks against security forces in Balochistan and other parts of the nation, such a large-scale coordinated offensive is uncommon.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, confirmed the loss of 10 security officers. He commended the security forces for their resilience, successfully repelling the insurgents at numerous sites across the province. Officials reported that nearly 100 militants have been neutralized in Balochistan over the last two days, with 58 fatalities occurring on Saturday alone.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for these operations, in which some banks were also looted. They released footage showcasing female fighters participating in the attacks, seemingly to underscore the involvement of women within their ranks.

Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the Balochistan government, noted that most of the attempted assaults were thwarted. These events followed a military announcement that detailed recent raids on two militant sanctuaries in the southwest, resulting in the elimination of 41 insurgents in separate encounters.

Provincial Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti took to X to announce that security forces are in pursuit of the insurgents. He highlighted that over the past year, security forces have successfully killed at least 700 insurgents.

According to Balochistan police and government officials, at least 37 assailants were killed initially and 21 more were traced and shot dead. Earlier Saturday, authorities said that insurgents destroyed rail tracks, prompting Pakistan Railways to suspend train services from Balochistan to other parts of the country.

The attacks began almost simultaneously across the province, provincial Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar said. He said two police officers were killed in a grenade attack on a police vehicle in Quetta, the provincial capital. The government declared an emergency at all hospitals.

Dozens of insurgents also attacked a prison in Mastung district, freeing more than 30 inmates, police said. In other attacks, militants attempted to storm the provincial headquarters of paramilitary forces in Nushki district, but the attack was repelled, police said.

Insurgents hurled grenades at the office of a government administrator in Dalbandin district, but a swift response by security forces forced them to flee, according to local authorities. Attacks on security posts in Balincha, Tump and Kharan districts were thwarted, while in Pasni and Gwadar, insurgents attempted to abduct passengers traveling on buses along highways, police said.

Kakar also blamed the violence on the BLA, which is banned in Pakistan and designated a terrorist organization by the United States. It has been behind numerous attacks in recent years, and Pakistan says the group enjoys the backing from India, a charge New Delhi denies. Pakistan has repeatedly said that Baloch separatists, the Pakistani Taliban and other militants are using Afghan soil to launch attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the claim.

Baloch separatist groups and the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, have intensified attacks in Pakistan in recent months. The TTP is a separate group but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, who returned to power in August 2021.

Balochistan has long been the site of an insurgency by separatist groups seeking independence from Pakistan’s central government in Islamabad.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, and Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.