Outlawed Pakistani separatist group claims killing of 7 in bus attack in restive southwest

QUETTA, Pakistan — A Pakistani separatist group claimed responsibility on Thursday for the killing of seven bus passengers in an attack earlier this week, saying the victims were affiliated with the military and intelligence services.

The attack occurred late Tuesday night when ethnic Baloch militants armed with guns intercepted several passenger buses on a highway in southwestern Pakistan.

The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army group said in a statement its fighters attacked the buses and killed the men in Rakhni, a town in Balochistan province.

But local authorities dismissed the claim, saying the slain individuals were civilians with no ties to security forces.

Though BLA mainly operates in Balochistan, it has also targeted Chinese nationals working on multi-billion-dollar projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Last year, BLA killed dozens of people in three separate attacks on vehicles in Balochistan, which has been the scene of a long-running insurgency in Pakistan. BLA wants independence from the central government in Islamabad.

Although Pakistan says it has quelled the insurgency, violence in Balochistan has persisted.

Pakistan is also conducting operations in the former strongholds of the Pakistani Taliban in the restive northwest.

Authorities are also expected to soon carry out a major operation in Kurram, a district in restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where militants have repeatedly attacked aid trucks and killed security forces and drivers.

At least 130 people died in recent months in clashes between rival Shiite and Sunni tribes in Kurram. A key road leading to Kurram has been closed since October, causing a shortage of food and medicines.

Shiite Muslims dominate parts of Kurram, but they are a minority in the rest of Sunni-majority Pakistan.

Kurram has a history of sectarian conflict. Authorities hope the planned operation in Kurram would result in the reopening of roads and normalization of life in the region, where helicopters are currently being used to transport medicines and aid trucks carrying food and vegetables are sent amid tight security.