By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed six militants in a quadcopter-assisted operation in southwestern province of Balochistan, state media reported on Thursday, hours after Islamabad said fresh airstrikes inside Afghanistan had killed 22 terrorists.
State-run Radio Pakistan, citing security sources, said the intelligence-based operation took place in the Sanni area of Kachhi district under Operation Radd-ul-Fitna 3. The sources said a clearance operation was underway to eliminate any remaining militants. Radio Pakistan reported that a large quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered.
The dead were described as members of Fitna al-Hindustan, the term the government adopted last year for all militant groups operating in Balochistan. Officials accuse India of sponsoring a proxy war through the groups. Security sources said forces remained committed to eliminating terrorism across the country under the Azm-e-Istehkam campaign.
The Balochistan announcement came alongside a far larger development. Pakistan’s information ministry said it had carried out “well-planned and calibrated” air strikes against terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan. It said the action was taken in continuation of Operation Ghazab lil Haq, and that initial reports suggested 22 militants had been killed. The ministry said the strikes hit camps linked to Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan. Fitna al-Khawarij is the label Islamabad uses for the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. The ministry said it had taken maximum precaution to avoid collateral damage.
A violent summer in Balochistan
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence over the past three months, with attacks across the country killing security personnel and civilians.
On 28 September, security forces killed two members of the banned Baloch Liberation Army in the Nokcha area. Sources said the pair had set an empty water bowser on fire before trying to flee, which led to a chase and an exchange of fire. They were also accused of involvement in arson attacks along the N-40 Quetta-Taftan highway.
That followed an operation on the same road on 31 August, in which 11 militants were killed. Armed men had allegedly set up an illegal checkpoint in Chagai district to disrupt traffic and extort motorists.
On 1 September, six security personnel, including two officers, and a customs official were killed as forces thwarted an attempt to breach the Customs House in Balochistan.
The deadliest recent attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa came on 19 September, when 23 people, including 15 police personnel, died in a blast at a mosque inside the Police Lines in Kohat during Friday prayers. Eight attackers were killed in the search and clearance operation that followed. The Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan, led by the Afghanistan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur, later claimed responsibility. In a separate incident in Hangu district, a captain and a lieutenant were among six security personnel killed in an exchange of fire in which eight militants also died.
In July, at least 30 people, including 27 police personnel, were killed when militants the state identifies as Fitna al-Hindustan ambushed police in the Kach Mangi Phase III area of Ziarat, setting off gun battles lasting hours. The attackers also abducted several civilians and police personnel. The army, Frontier Corps and Balochistan Police launched a joint operation in response, which remains under way.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
