21 terrorists killed in Balochistan after security forces respond to several attacks

Pakistani security forces killed 21 terrorists in Balochistan during a clearance operation against militants behind multiple attacks across the province, the military’s media wing said Monday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that 14 security personnel were martyred during clearance operations in Balochistan’s Musa Khel, Kalat, and Lasbela districts.

The military’s media wing stated that terrorists attempted to carry out several militant activities in Balochistan late Sunday night and on Monday morning.

These cowardly acts of terrorism, orchestrated by inimical and hostile forces, aimed to disrupt the peaceful environment and development of Balochistan, particularly by targeting innocent civilians in the districts of Musa Khel, Kalat, and Lasbela.

Security forces and law enforcement agencies immediately intervened during the ensuing clearance operations to maintain security and the safety of the local community.

Sanitization operations are being conducted to ensure that the instigators, perpetrators, facilitators, and abettors of these acts are brought to justice, the ISPR statement said.

Terrorists carried out attacks at several places and the security forces will continue the operation until the terrorists are eliminated, Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.

The report comes after armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham district of Musakhel and offloaded 23 passengers from buses and shot at them after checking their identities.

“The armed men also not only killed passengers but also killed the drivers of trucks carrying coal,” Hameed Zahir, the deputy commissioner of the area told Reuters.

At least 10 trucks were set on fire after their drivers had been killed, he added.

On Sunday, six security personnel and four civilians were killed in clashes with terrorists who stormed a station of the Balochistan Levies in the central district of Kalat, police official Dostain Khan Dashti told Reuters.

Officials said police stations had also been attacked in the two southern coastal towns, but the toll had yet to be confirmed.

Balochistan, which borders both Iran and Afghanistan, is Pakistan’s largest province by size, but the least populated and it remains largely underdeveloped, with high levels of poverty.