Islamabad, Feb 1: At least 15 Pakistani soldiers and 92 militants were killed in multiple counter-terrorism operations conducted by security forces across restive Balochistan, the army said on Sunday.
According to an army statement, the operations were launched after militants belonging to ethnic Baloch groups carried out coordinated attacks at several locations in the province on Saturday. The militants allegedly attempted to disturb peace through terrorist activities in and around Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar and Pasni.
The army said security forces and law enforcement agencies, remaining on high alert, responded swiftly and successfully foiled the militants’ attempts to destabilise the region. “Our valiant troops engaged the terrorists with precision and after prolonged, intense and daring clearance operations across Balochistan, killed 92 terrorists, including three suicide bombers,” the statement said.
The militants also targeted civilians, killing 18 people, including women, children, the elderly and labourers. During the clearance operations and ensuing gun battles, 15 soldiers lost their lives, the army added.
Sanitisation operations are continuing in the affected areas, and the instigators, perpetrators, facilitators and abettors of these “heinous and cowardly acts” will be brought to justice, the statement said.
Separately, the army said 41 militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed on Saturday in security operations in Panjgur and Harnai districts. With these operations, the total number of militants killed in the ongoing campaign in Balochistan has reached 133 over the last two days.
The army said the counter-terrorism campaign, approved by the Federal Apex Committee under the National Action Plan, would continue at full pace. Violence has surged in Balochistan in recent years, with fatalities rising nearly 22 per cent last year, according to independent research groups. (Agencies)
