islamabad, Aug 20
Five terrorists were killed and several others injured during an operation by security forces in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, according to a state media report on Thursday. The security forces gunned down terrorists in the Killi Suran area of Panjgur district on Wednesday night as part of an ongoing crackdown against terrorism in the province following the killing of 27 policemen at Mangi Dam in Ziarat on July 6. According to the state-owned Pakistan TV, the slain terrorists were involved in extortion, ransom kidnappings, robberies and targeted killings in the district. Three vehicles, including two motorcycles and an improvised explosive device, were recovered from their possession. Flags of a banned outfit were also recovered, sources said. Earlier on Monday, two terrorists were killed and several others were injured during an operation in the Killi Zaik area of the province.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday commended security forces for thwarting the “nefarious designs” of the terrorists, a statement issued by the ministry said. “The successful operations of the security forces against enemies of peace in Balochistan are commendable,” the statement quoted Naqvi as saying. The federal government accuses the banned Baloch Liberation Army of carrying out terror attacks in the province. In a separate incident, three Afghan nationals were killed, while another was critically injured by unidentified gunmen in Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan province, on Wednesday. The Afghan nationals were workers and were waiting at a spot for transport to travel to their destination when masked men opened fire at them, a police officer said.
He said two workers were killed on the spot while one of them succumbed to the wounds later at the hospital. The condition of the fourth is said to be critical.
