By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed 24 militants in three days of fierce fighting in the restive province of Balochistan, the military said on Friday, after repelling a series of coordinated attacks on key installations in the region.
The clashes erupted on Monday night, when militants armed with rockets and heavy weapons assaulted a coal mine complex in Mach, a town about 40 miles from Quetta, the provincial capital. The attackers also torched a hotel and six shops in the nearby town of Kolpur, the military said.
The security forces responded swiftly and engaged the militants in intense gun battles that lasted for several hours, the military said.
“Law enforcement agencies deputed on security offered stiff resistance and forced the attackers to retreat,” the Inter Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, said in a statement.
The forces then pursued the fleeing militants and cleared the area of any remaining threats, the military said.
“During the firefights and sanitization/clearance operations, in the last three days, 24 terrorists have been killed.”
The statement identified five of the slain militants as “key terrorists” and said the identification of the others was in progress.
The key terrorists — killed after they attacked the Mach and Kolpur Complexes in Balochistan on the night of January 29 and 30 — include Shehzad Baloch, Attaullah, Salah Uddin, Abdul Wadood and Zeeshan, the military said.
It also said that four members of the security forces and two civilians were killed in the clashes.
The military praised the “effective response” of the security forces and their “unrelenting resolve” in the fight against terrorism.
“Pakistan’s Security Forces stand shoulder to shoulder with other Law Enforcement Agencies to ensure peace and stability in the country.”
Militant violence in Pakistan’s border areas has put authorities on alert ahead of next week’s polls.
Balochistan has long been a hotbed of insurgency and violence, as separatist groups, Islamist militants and criminal gangs operate with impunity in the vast and rugged terrain.
The province is also a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a multibillion-dollar infrastructure project that aims to link China with Europe and Africa through a network of roads, railways and ports.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
