Over the weekend, Pakistan’s Baluchistan province experienced a coordinated wave of terrorist attacks spanning multiple cities.
What is critical to understand from the outset is
These are not isolated attacks.They are not spontaneous.They are not the work of a single rogue cell.
What we are witnessing is Phase Two of a deliberate, named terrorist campaign being executed by the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA), supported by its specialized units and affiliated factions.
The campaign name — used by the militants themselves — is “Hero or Heroic Operations.”
To really understand what’s going on, we need to step back, break down how this campaign works, and walk through its tactics step by step.
Let’s take it to the Watch Floor.
To understand Phase Two, you must understand Phase One — because Phase Two (Operation Hero 2.0) is built entirely on the lessons learned from the previous attacks.
Phase One consisted of coordinated assaults, infrastructure sabotage, and targeted strikes whose purpose was not territorial conquest, it was aimed to collect datapoint to carry out the next stage of attacks.
Phase One tested
• Security force response times• Inter-agency coordination within the Pakistani security system• The ability to manage simultaneous crises• The psychological resilience of the state
This is a familiar model.
AlQaeda in Iraq used this sequencing in 2006–2007 before declaring the Islamic State of Iraq.ISIS repeated it in 2012–2013 in Syria prior to urban seizures.The Taliban used similar probing attacks across Helmand and Kunduz (2014–2015) before district collapses.
Probe first. Measure response. Escalate later.
Phase One became during Operation DaraeBolan with launch day being January 29–31, 2024 in Kachhi District, BLA terrorists launched a multiday coordinated assault involving:
• Hundreds of terrorist s• Suicide bombers• Heavy weapons• Multiple attack axes
Targets included
• Frontier Corps positions• Police installations• Rail and road infrastructure• A central jail
Terrorists claimed control of parts of the Bolan Pass for more than 40 hours.
Regardless of the exact duration, what matters is what was demonstrated
• Sustained operations• Centralized command and control• Coordinated messaging campaigns to fool the public during active combat
This resembled Taliban districtlevel offensives (Kunduz, 2015) and ISIS temporary urban seizures (Fallujah, early 2014) — not your traditional Baloch hitandrun attacks.
Phase One continued with was a massive attack on infrastructure being the Jaffar Express operation in March 2025. In Sibi District, when BLA terrorists sabotaged rail lines and hijacked the Jaffar Express passenger train which was transporting both civilian and military personal. Death tolls was never publicly announced but was at least 30 and another 30 were killed terrorists.
This combined
• Infrastructure interdiction• Geographic isolation• Hostagestyle pressure
This mirrors
• ISIS rail sabotage in Iraq (2013–2014)• AQAP transport corridor attacks in Yemen (2011–2012)• Taliban highway interdictions in Ghazni and Wardak (starting in 2018)
By the end of Phase One, the BLA had demonstrated it could
• Synchronize attacks across a wide geography• Deploy suicide units selectively• Sustain operations beyond short engagements• Shape the information environment
Those lessons directly informed Phase Two.
Phase Two began in the early hours of January 29, 2026, yes the same exact launch day a phase one.
The timing was deliberate.
Attacks were synchronized at dawn, straining command, logistics, and information flow.
This phase was an escalation and the planning expanded in
• Geographic reach• Operational tempo• Urban exposure being a planned saturation, which means is was not spontaneous violence but instead in a short time window multiple locations where hit, which stretches security forces to the max.
The operation was run by BLA led by the emir of the group, Bashir Zaib
MAJEED BRIGADE: BLA’s suicide operations unitDeploys male and female attackersWere used against hardened and symbolic targets
This mirrors ISIS inghimasi units (2014–2017), AQI martyrdom brigades (2005–2008), and Taliban ishtehadi teams (that still operate today)
FATEH SQUAD: These are Assault and exploitation teams–This is the team that conducts the secondary wave of attacks, so after a suicide bomber
TACTICS USED: We do not have all the death tolls as this is an ongoing operation, over 135 terrorists killed, at least 20 civilians killed over a dozen security forces killed.
URBAN EMBEDDING
Phase Two kicked off deliberately in urban areas.
This forced first responders to operate amid civilians, traffic, and in front of the media cameras— increasing friction and psychological impact.
Used by ISIS in Mosul (2016) and Hamas repeatedly in Gaza.
SUICIDE OPERATIONS
They are strategic assets, deployed to
• Breach fortified locations• Signal resolve• Anchored successful secondary attacks
WOMEN ATTACKERS: A DELIBERATE ESCALATION (2 videos provided)
Female attackers within the Majeed Brigade serve
• Operational surprise• Media amplification• Psychological shock• Security force hesitation
This mirrors ISIS’s latestage female deployments (2017–2019) and the Tamil Tigers use of women, including the 1991 assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
DISGUISE AND INFILTRATION
Documented use of
• Frontier Corps uniforms• Forged or stolen IDs
This tactic slowed U.S. and Iraqi forces during AQI and ISIS operations (2006–2014).
DRONES: NORMALIZED INSURGENT TOOLS
Drone use provides
• Route reconnaissance• ISR• Postattack assessment
Mirrors ISIS ISR drones (2016–2017), Hamas reconnaissance (preOct 7, 2023), and TTP experimentation (2022–present).
INFORMATION WARFARE FROM HOUR ONE
• Immediate claims of responsibility; Rapid video dissemination; And even branding regarding this phase of the operation was released. HERE INSERT HERO CLIP
Information dominance is treated as a combat function.
CITYBYCITY BREAKDOWN
QUETTA
• Clashes across multiple areas• Sariab Road emerged as a focal point• Heavy security deployment
Operating in the provincial capital maximizes impact.
SIBI
• Attack on the Commissioner Complex
MASTUNG
Claishes in Mastung this area is important as it’s a logistics and military response corridor.
KALAT
• Activity here were focused on disrupting movement corridors and Delaying reinforcements
NUSHKI (One nighttime video provided of follow-on ops)
Attack to sideline the Frontier Corps
DALBANDIN
• Inclusion in Dalbandin
KHARAN
• Limited activity, contributing to overall saturation
PANJGUR
• Long associated with militant logistics and movement
GWADAR
• Even minimal activity carries outsized symbolic and economic weight
This mirrors ISIS and AQ signaling attacks near strategic infrastructure.
ENABLERS: TALIBAN, AQ, AND THE TRAINING PIPELINE
The Taliban are harboring BLA and BLF elements, with AlQaeda networks providing training and tactical reinforcement.
This explains the shift toward
• Phased campaigns• Suicide discipline• Drone integration• Information warfare
These are imported terrorist best practices from Afghanistan which again is the new base of terrorism in the world.
LOOKING AHEAD: KASHMIR CHATTER
Similar tactics have emerged in Kashmir.
• Exploit momentum• Expand theaters• Force multifront strain on the Pakistani military
Phase Two of Heroic Operations did not emerge suddenly.
It kicked off deliberately built on years of testing, learning, and adaptation.
The tactics, sequencing, and messaging mirror methods refined by ISIS, AlQaeda, the Taliban, Hamas, and TTP, adapted to the Baloch theater.
This is not about winning a single day.
It is about proving the campaign can continue — and expand.