Attempted attack on Naval Airbase near Turbat Airport, Majeed Brigade claimed responsibility

Attempted attack on Naval Airbase near Turbat Airport, Majeed Brigade claimed responsibility

A major attack has been carried out by armed men in Turbat, the headquarters of the Kech district of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, bordering Iran, which has been thwarted according to the authorities.

Makran Division Commissioner Saeed Imrani confirmed the attack and said that the attack was carried out near the airport on Monday night.

Speaking to the BBC, he said that four to six attackers attacked the airport from three locations but could not reach the naval air base.

According to Commissioner Makran Division, the attackers attacked from the airport side, football stadium and Sohrab Dam, but the security personnel were alert, so they responded in time, as a result of which the attackers could not enter the Naval Air Base.

A senior government official in Quetta told the BBC that the attackers entered Turbat Airport from the civilian side but were prevented from advancing further by security forces. Commissioner Saeed Imran said that the exact number of attackers will be known when the clearance operation is completed.

The responsibility of this attack has been claimed by the Majeed Brigade of the banned militant organization BLA. The organization’s spokesperson claimed in a statement that its operatives attacked the naval air base in Turbat at 10 pm on Monday and managed to break through the security fence and enter inside.

This is the second major attack by this extremist organization in Balochistan within a week. Earlier, several militants also attacked the Port Authority complex in Gwadar district adjacent to Kech, which was foiled according to Pakistani authorities.

In this attack, government officials confirmed that two officials were killed while eight attackers were also killed.

Ketch and Gwadar are administratively part of Makran Division. After the deterioration of the situation in Balochistan, incidents of this nature are happening more or less in these districts as well.

Why Majeed Brigade was created?

The recent armed struggle in Balochistan started after the death of former Chief Minister and senior politician Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation.

Balochistan currently includes Balochistan Liberation Front, Baloch Liberation Army, Baloch Republican Army, Baloch National Guard and other organizations and their groups who believe in armed struggle.

The government of Pakistan has banned them, declaring their activities as terrorism. The oldest organization among them is BLA.

Prince Zulfikar, a journalist and analyst monitoring the ongoing militancy in Balochistan, says that Aslam Ichhu and Bashir Zeib founded the Majeed Brigade.

A look at their training and publication materials shows that they thought they should go further because the most dangerous thing to do is to jump in with no regard for your life.