Karachi, Aug 21: Pakistan’s Army on Friday said 49 terrorists have been killed by the security forces in separate intelligence-based operations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistan’s Army media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said at least 37 terrorists were killed by the security forces in ten intelligence-based operations in Mastung, Mach, Khuzdar, and Panjgur districts of Balochistan this week.
“A significant quantity of weapons, explosive drums and remote detonation equipment were seized and destroyed,” ISPR said.
The ISPR didn’t give an exact time frame for the operations in the above areas but said the terrorists were killed in the last few days.
Army said that at least 12 terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij were also killed in Bannu, North Waziristan, Orakzai and Khyber districts in separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Khawarij is a term that the state uses for banned organisations.
The ISPR said that under the National Action Plan by the government, security forces and law enforcement agencies will eliminate terrorism from the country.
In a separate incident, at least six people were killed and two injured on Friday in an explosion at a farm in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, police said.
Three farm workers were killed instantly and three succumbed to injuries in hospital due to the explosion that ripped through a farm in the Kadh Kocha town of Mastung district, a police official said.
Two persons are under treatment in a nearby hospital, he said.
In another incident, soon after the explosion, two persons were gunned down in the Kadh Kocha town by unidentified gunmen riding on motorcycles.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terror activities, particularly in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces in the past few years.
The monthly report of the Islamabad-based think tank, the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), said on July 31 that the security situation deteriorated most significantly in Balochistan last month.
The overall death toll increased by 241 per cent in Balochistan, from 109 in June to 372 in July, the PICSS said.
It also said that 62 security personnel were killed in different incidents and operations in Balochistan in July, compared to six killed in June.
Security forces, including the military, have been carrying out clean-up operations in Balochistan since last month after a spate of attacks by insurgent groups, especially one incident which saw 27 policemen killed in Ziarat on July 6. (PTI)
