Saturday’s wave of coordinated attacks by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) brought Pakistan’s largest province to a near standstill as insurgents set off explosives and exchanged fire with security forces in more than a dozen places. Security officials said they have killed 197 militants.

“I thought the roof and walls of my house were going to blowup,” said Robina Ali, a housewife living near the main administrative building in the fortified provincial capital of Quetta.

Fighters of the BLA, the region’s strongest insurgent group, stormed schools, banks, markets and security installations across Balochistan in one of their largest operations ever, killing more than 22 security personnel and 36 civilians. Police officials gave details of the situation on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

–Reuters–