A suicide bomber hit Baloch militant leaders in a residential area in Kandahar’s Aino Mina area on Tuesday, killing Aslam Baloch and five other top Baloch militant leaders and wounding three others.
Aslam Baloch was a top commander of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) who initiated a recent campaign of suicide attacks against Chinese nationals in Pakistan.
Aslam’s son, Rehan Baloch, carried out a suicide attack on a bus carrying Chinese engineers in Dalbandeen in August this year. Later, in November, three gunmen sent by Aslam, attacked the Chinese consulate in Karachi, killing two police officers guarding the premises.
Aslam Baloch blamed China of exploiting Baloch resources in the CPEC project and vowed to go to any extent to stop “Chinese colonialism” in Balochistan.
In a statement issued late on Tuesday night, the BLA confirmed the killing of Aslam Baloch and five other BLA fighters but didn’t disclose the circumstances of the killings.
However, sources confirmed to Balochistan Times that a suicide bomber detonated himself at Road No3, First Aino Mina in Kandahar where Aslam Baloch was residing.
Others killed in the attack were Sardar alias Tajoo, Commander Marri alias Rahim Baloch, Akhtar Baloch alias Rustom, Sangat Fareed Baloch and Sadiq Baloch.
The attack does not only confirm Pakistan’s persisting influence over Afghan Taliban but also resonates with Islamabad’s claims that Kabul is providing refuge to Baloch separatist militants.
