Islamabad/Karachi: Pakistani security forces killed 73 terrorists in operations across the restive Balochistan province over the past few days, the army said Sunday.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani Army, said the intelligence-based operations were conducted over the past 96 hours in the province’s capital city, Quetta.
Operations were also conducted in Ziarat and Noshki districts and the Mand area in the Tump district against banned militant organisations.
The ISPR, in a statement, said 33 terrorists were killed during an operation in the Shaban area in Quetta after security forces engaged them in intense exchanges of fire and cleared multiple hideouts.
Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered, ISPR added.
It said the operation was launched September 21 in Ziarat. The operation was intensified over the past 72 hours, resulting in the killing of 23 terrorists.
Eleven terrorists were killed in separate operations in Noshki district Friday, while another six were killed in Mand, where a large quantity of weapons and ammunition was recovered, according to the ISPR.
The army claimed the operations targeted members of groups it describes as “Fitna al Khawarij.”
Pakistan uses the term “Fitna al Khawarij” for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The ISPR in the statement also alleged that the Afghan Taliban government’s involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan “continues to cause loss of precious lives and threaten peace and stability”.
There was no immediate response from the Afghan Taliban government to the latest allegation.
President Asif Ali Zardari commended the security forces for the operations and termed the clearance of several militant hideouts in Balochistan a major success.
In a separate incident, unidentified armed men targeted a construction site in the Palari area of Duki district in the province and abducted 12 workers, according to Senior Superintendent of Police Duki district Mansoor Buzdar.
“A security guard at the site was killed when he offered resistance while two other guards were injured,” Buzdar said.
Militants in Balochistan province target mines and construction sites and abduct workers who belong to other provinces.
The Balochistan province bordering Afghanistan has witnessed an uptick in violence from multiple militant organisations primarily targeting civilians and government officials.