In a chilling escalation of separatist violence, a female suicide bomber from the banned Balochistan Liberation Army detonated a powerful explosive device at the main entrance of the Frontier Corps headquarters in Nokundi, Chagai district, late Sunday night. The blast, intended to breach the fortified perimeter, marked the opening phase of a coordinated assault on one of Pakistan’s most sensitive paramilitary installations in the restive province.

The bomber, identified by the BLA as Zinata Rafiq Baloch, killed herself instantly, creating sufficient chaos for six heavily armed militants to attempt a full-scale storming of the compound. What followed was an intense, hour-long gunbattle as Frontier Corps personnel mounted a determined defence against the intruders seeking to overrun the headquarters.

Security forces swiftly neutralised three attackers in close-quarters combat near the shattered entrance gate, while the remaining three militants briefly penetrated the outer defences before being encircled inside the facility. After prolonged exchanges of fire that continued until Monday evening, all three were eliminated, bringing the total militant death toll to six, with no reported casualties among the defending troops.

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This attack represents at least the third confirmed deployment of a female suicide bomber by the BLA, highlighting the group’s increasing reliance on women for high-impact operations. Previous assaults include the April 2022 bombing at Karachi University by Shari Baloch, a schoolteacher and mother of two, that killed four people including three Chinese nationals, and the June 2023 strike on a military convoy in Turbat by Sumaiya Qalandrani Baloch.

The pattern of female involvement has deepened with recent investigations revealing a BLA woman played a central role in planning the October 2024 suicide attack near Jinnah International Airport that claimed two Chinese engineers. Security officials now acknowledge the insurgent group’s deliberate strategy of using female operatives to exploit lax screening and achieve tactical surprise against hardened targets across Balochistan and beyond.

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