QUETTA (The Thursday Times) — Pakistani security forces launched an operation in Tehsil Khad Kucha in Balochistan’s Mastung district on Thursday, in which 15 terrorists were killed and 12 others wounded, according to security sources. The operation has been named Operation Al Azm.
Security sources said blocks and ambushes were laid at locations where terrorists were believed to be present, and that intense exchanges of fire followed at several points during the operation. The sources described the action as a clearance operation against terrorists of Fitna al-Hindustan, the name used by Pakistani security officials for a group they say is backed from abroad.
Eight suspects were detained during the operation and one terrorists hideout was destroyed, the sources said. A large cache of weapons and ammunition was seized, along with seven motorcycles said to have been in use by the terrorists. No casualties were reported among the security forces.
The operation follows remarks by Field Marshal Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces, who told participants of the 20th National Workshop Balochistan at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi this week that targeted operations would continue with full resolve until terrorism and its abettors were eliminated from Pakistan. He said sustained efforts by security forces and law enforcement agencies, backed by public support, would bring lasting peace to Balochistan, and that foreign-sponsored proxies seeking to fuel violence and undermine stability in the province would be defeated.
