A paramilitary checkpoint was attacked by separatists in southwest Pakistan’s Balochistan. 7 soldiers were killed in this. 8 more people were injured. On Saturday (November 16), Reuters reported this information in a report.

Provincial police officer Habib-ur-Rehman said separatists attacked a paramilitary checkpoint early Saturday in the mountainous Kalat district of southwestern Balochistan. 7 soldiers were killed in this. 8 more people were injured. Some of them are in critical condition. They have been admitted to a local hospital.

The separatist group is the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), police told Reuters in an email.

The group has recently stepped up its operations. Earlier last week, the group carried out a suicide bombing targeting soldiers at a railway station on their way home for leave. 27 people including 19 soldiers were killed.

Earlier last month, the group also claimed a suicide bombing outside the South Karachi International Airport. Two Chinese engineers were killed.

The BLA, along with several other militant groups, have been fighting for an independent state for a large part of the mineral-rich Baluchistan province bordering Afghanistan and Iran for decades.