ISPR reports 48 militants killed in Balochistan
Over the past 72 hours, Pakistani security forces killed 48 people whom the country’s military media wing, ISPR, described as terrorists during several counterterrorism operations in Balochistan province. Dawn reports this, citing ISPR.
The operations were conducted in the districts of Mastung, Quetta, Kalat and Sibi. ISPR said the operations targeted groups that Pakistani authorities designate by the terms Fitna-al-Hindustan and Fitna-al-Khawarij. The military also reported alleged links between some of these people and India; this claim reflects the Pakistani side’s position.
Operations in the districts
According to ISPR, during an intelligence-based operation in Mastung district, security forces engaged in a battle and killed six people described as terrorists. The military said it seized and destroyed a stockpile of ammunition and improvised explosive devices.
In the Shaban area of Quetta district, security forces discovered four hideouts, ISPR reported. Following a firefight, 26 people were killed, according to the military. ISPR described another two people as killed during a raid on a hideout in Kalat district, and two more in the Bhag area of Sibi district, where security forces repelled an attempted attack on a local police station.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Earlier, ISPR reported 12 people killed during an operation in Kalat district on Wednesday. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the actions of the security forces and stated their intention to eradicate terrorism in the country.
Attack in Bkhazi
According to the Balochistan government, about 40 attackers carried out coordinated attacks on a police station, a bank and the assistant commissioner’s office in the city of Bhag. Shahid Rind, an adviser to the province’s chief minister on political and media affairs, said the attackers used heavy weapons, grenade launchers, machine guns, sniper rifles and hand grenades.
According to him, the attackers failed to seize the station, obtain weapons or rob the bank. Police resisted them for about two hours, after which they retreated. Two police officers and three civilians were injured. Rind also reported that specialists defused an improvised explosive device planted at the bank.
The attacks occurred amid growing terrorist activity in Balochistan. The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies reported that the number of attacks in the province rose by 7% in August, from 83 in July to 89.
