Separatist group claims responsibility for several attacks in southwest Pakistan that killed more than 40 people

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A separatist group claimed responsibility for several attacks in southwest Pakistan which left more than 40 people dead, but authorities stressed that no civilians were harmed as they transferred the bodies of 23 victims to their home districts for burial on Tuesday.

The banned Balochistan Liberation Army warned of further attacks in a statement overnight into Tuesday and said that 800 of its well-trained fighters were taking part in the first phase of the Shootings and bombings that started late Sunday and ended on Monday.

It was warned that the second phase of the attacks would be “even more intense and comprehensive”.

Twenty-three people and 14 security officials were among the dozens killed in numerous insurgent attacks in the restive southwest, the highest single-day death toll in the region's recent spate of violence.

The attacks sparked nationwide condemnation.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that there would be no peace talks with the insurgents who took up arms against the state in Balochistan, killed innocent people and attacked security forces.

He said the recent attacks in Balochistan were aimed at damaging Chinese-funded development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which involves building and improving roads and rail networks to link the western Chinese region of Xinjiang with the southwestern Pakistani port city of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.

In recent years, the BLA and other militants have also attacked Chinese nationals working on CPEC projects.

Shafique Ullah, a local administration official, said 14 people from eastern Punjab province and nine Baloch were among the 23 killed by the BLA after they were unloaded from their vehicles on a highway in Musakhail, a district in Balochistan, early Sunday.

The bodies were transferred to their home districts on Monday, he said.

In Balochistan, funerals were held overnight for the 14 security officials killed in the attacks.

The government has announced that it will punish the attackers and their accomplices.

The BLA has been carrying out small-scale attacks against security forces for years, but the recent violence shows that it is now much better organized.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti told reporters in Quetta on Monday that operations against the insurgents were still ongoing, adding: “Those who killed our innocent civilians and security forces will be punished severely.”

Balochistan was the scene of a long-lasting uprising In Pakistan, several separatist groups are carrying out attacks, especially against security forces. The separatists are demanding independence from the central government.

Although Pakistan claims to have crushed the uprising, violence continues in Balochistan.