At least ten workers, among them a Turkish national, lost their lives and eight others were injured when heavily armed militants launched an attack on a mining facility in Balochistan’s Chagai district on the evening of April 22. This incident marks one of the deadliest assaults on a private sector project in the region in recent times.
The targeted site belongs to National Resources Limited (NRL) and is located in the remote Darigwan area, approximately 100 kilometers northwest of Dalbandin. The attackers, numbering in the dozens, approached the facility from multiple directions, employing automatic firearms, rockets, and explosives.
Security officials reported that the assailants fired rockets and threw bombs, causing fires that severely damaged machinery and vehicles at the site. Hospital authorities at Prince Fahad Hospital in Dalbandin received ten bodies and eight wounded workers, who were later transferred to Quetta for advanced medical care.
hospital supervisor Zain Sanjrani, six of the deceased were severely burned due to the fires, while others suffered from gunshot wounds and blast injuries. The victims included a Turkish driller and Pakistani nationals hailing from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a significant development, a senior administrative official revealed that some workers might have been abducted during the attack, though this has not been confirmed. Security personnel at the site resisted the assault, resulting in a fierce gunfight that claimed the lives of at least three guards.
Local sources added that the attackers set fire to drilling equipment, generators, and other assets before fleeing with company vehicles. Subsequently, security forces, including the Frontier Corps, secured the area and launched a search operation in the vicinity.
NRL issued a statement confirming the attack occurred around 5:45 pm on April 22, describing the perpetrators as “unknown miscreants.” The company emphasized that security forces responded swiftly and that clearance operations were ongoing to protect personnel and property. While casualty figures were not disclosed by the company, it affirmed its commitment to continuing operations and supporting local community development.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack to date. However, separatist militant factions have long been active in Balochistan, frequently targeting security forces, infrastructure, and private enterprises. Violence has escalated in recent years in this mineral-rich province, where insurgents accuse the government and foreign investors of exploiting local resources—a claim the authorities reject, insisting that development projects aim to foster economic growth.
