The BLA, which has been waging an armed insurgency in the region for decades, later claimed responsibility for the attack. The separatist group has carried out a series of deadly assaults in recent years, often targeting security forces, ethnic Punjabis, and Chinese nationals working on development projects in Balochistan.

Pakistan's military says 18 troops and 23 separatist rebels have been killed in fighting in northwestern Balochistan province.

Pakistani separatist militants claimed on Saturday an attack on a highway in a volatile southwestern province that killed 18 paramilitaries and seriously wounded three others.