QUETTA, Pakistan, May 31, (AP): Dozens of armed separatists briefly seized control of a high-security area in a city in southwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing a government official and looting a bank before fleeing, police and officials said. Hidayat Buledi, a local government official, was killed and his home was set on fire in the attack on Sorab, in the Balochistan region, local police chief Hafeez Ullah said. He said Buledi was "martyred” while trying to protect women and children trapped inside the burning house during the assault.

Ullah said several insurgents were killed in the shootout with police. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, which was designated a terror group by the United States in 2019, claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, BLA said its fighters had taken control of key government buildings in Sorab. Ullah dismissed the claim, saying the insurgents fled when security forces responded to the assault.

He said the attackers stormed Buledi's home and also set fire to several residences of government officials. Four civilians were injured. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, saying the assailants targeted civilians, including women and children. Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan government, blamed Indian proxies for the attack without offering any evidence. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. Sorab, a city known for its apple and grape orchards, is located near a key China-Pakistan trade route, which includes roads and rail systems to link western China’s Xinjiang region to Pakistan’s southwestern Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea.