 "Pakistan, Pakistan flag")
A paramilitary soldier belonging to Pakistan's Balochistan Frontier Corps was killed, along with four militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army's (BLA's) Majeed Brigade, in an attack on the Pakistani naval base PNS Siddique in Balochistan province's Turbat on Monday night, the Pakistani military's media affairs wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Tuesday.
Located in Balochistan's Turbat city, PNS Siddique, formerly known as Naval Air Station Turbat, is one of Pakistan's four active naval air bases and a military airport. It is also reported to be Pakistan's second largest naval air station after PNS Mehran.
Breaking: Pakistan’s second largest naval air station, PNS Siddique in Turbat is under heavy attack. Gunfire and multiple explosions have been reported from the area. Chinese drones are also stationed at this base. pic.twitter.com/8mX6IPhURo
— The Balochistan Post - English (@TBPEnglish) March 25, 2024
What is the Majeed Brigade?
The Majeed Brigade is the BLA's 'suicide squad'. Its parent organisation, the BLA, is a militant separatist group that is proscribed in Pakistan.
How did the Majeed Brigade start?
According to American defence policy think tank, The Jamestown Foundation, the brigade is named after two brothers, Majeed Langove Senior and Majeed Langove Junior, who had carried out separate suicide attacks.
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While Majeed Senior was killed while attempting to assassinate the then Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto during the latter's official visit to Quetta in 1974, Majeed Junior was killed trying to save his associates during a Pakistani security forces raid in 2010.
The BLA established a suicide squad, calling it the Majeed Brigade, after Majeed Junior's killing.
And the Majeed Brigade carried out its first suicide attack in December 2011. While the target of the attack, Shafeeq Mengal, the son of a former Pakistani federal minister and the leader of a death squad that was targeting Baloch insurgents, survived the attack, 13 others were killed.
In what appeared to be a false start of sorts, the publication from The Jamestown Foundation reveals that after the 2011 attack, the Majeed Brigade became dormant because of lack of funds and recruits.
When did the Majeed Brigade become a real threat?
The brigade's second suicide attack came seven years later, when it targeted a bus carrying Chinese engineers in August 2018.
Subsequently, the Majeed Brigade's suicide bombers carried out a string of attacks -- targeting the Chinese Consulate in Karachi in November 2018, Gwadar's Pearl Continental Hotel in May 2019, and the Pakistan Stock Exchange in June 2020.
How big is the Majeed Brigade?
While the overall strength of the BLA is estimated to be 1,000 to 1,500 fighters, the Majeed Brigade is a much smaller and select group, with no more than 100 to 150 members, including women.
According to The Jamestown Foundation, the Majeed Brigade is heavily armed and employs improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, and a number of automatic small arms like the American M4 rifle. Its members use military-grade explosives like C4 for making suicide vests.
How is the Majeed Brigade different?
The Jamestown Foundation explains that unlike most jihadist outfits, the Majeed Brigade’s suicide bombers are not kept in isolation before their attacks.
In fact, they are given the freedom to meet their families and friends.
The brigade's suicide bombers are also allowed a role in the selection of their targets and the planning for their attacks.
In what is a rareity among such organisations, if the brigade's suicide bombers do not agree with the political logic of selecting a particular target, they also have the freedom to pick a different one.
At any stage of the planned mission, the volunteer bomber also has the freedom to withdraw from the suicide attack.
How does the Majeed Brigade select its targets?
According to The Jamestown Foundation, the brigade's target selection strategy is based on striking a "conventionally superior" adversary, in this case Pakistan and its armed forces, where it hurts the most -- its interests and installations in its main cities.
The targets are selected for their "political, military, economic and symbolic significance", along with their "ability to generate publicity" for the BLA at the international level.
What's the common theme in Majeed Brigade's recent attacks?
One obvious common theme between the brigade's recent attacks is the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
In its statement on Tuesday, the ISPR said that the militants had attempted to attack PNS Siddique on Monday night, claiming that the attempt was foiled due to the "swift and effective response by the troops, ensuring the safety and security of personnel and assets".
One of PNS Siddique's core functions is to provide support to the CPEC project.
ISPR added that "effective response" by the armed forces led to the killing of all four militants during the course of a "joint clearance operation". However, the ISPR revealed that during the exchange of fire, a 24-year-old soldier of the Balochistan Frontier Corps was also killed.
Citing locals from Turbat town, Pakistani English-language newspaper Dawn said that over a dozen blasts were heard during the attack, and the firing, which began around 10 pm, continued late into the night.
Like last week's militant attack on the Gwadar Port Authority Complex, where two Pakistani soldiers and eight militants were killed, the BLA has claimed that its Majeed Brigade was behind this attack, too.
The attack on the Gwadar Port Authority Complex also saw heavy gunfire exchange and explosions.
The Gwadar Port is the cornerstone of the CPEC project and a crucial linkage between China's Belt and Road and Maritime Silk Road initiatives.
