FC kills four militants during operations in Balochistan

QUETTA: Four suspected militants were killed on Monday during operations conducted by the Balochistan Frontier Corps (FC) in various parts of the province, a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

According to the statement, four wanted terrorists belonging to the outlawed Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and the United Baloch Army (UBA) were killed during the operations, while 24 others were apprehended. Among those killed were Thango and Keleri of the BRA, the ISPR said. According to the statement, they were involved in the abduction of civilians and responsible for attacks on law enforcement personnel.

The two other suspected militants killed were identified as Muhammad Khan and Jalal Deen, both reported to be members of the UBA, who were involved in bombing railway lines, planting of improvised explosive devices and destroying power lines. Among the 24 suspects apprehended by the FC personnel was Samiullah, a resident of Dera Murad Jamali who, the statement said, was a suicide bomber linked to the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami.

According to further details, during the operations, the officials also seized large machine guns, small machine guns, rifles, pistols, IEDs, rockets, mortar shells and hand grenades. 16 kilogrammes of explosives and 15,032 rounds of mixed calibre ammunition were also seized in the operation.

The raids in Balochistan were carried out as part of Operation Raddul Fasaad, which the army had launched in February in the aftermath of a fresh resurgence in terror attacks in the country. Raddul Fasaad — which translates roughly to ‘elimination of discord’ — aims at indiscriminately eliminating the residual latent threat of terrorism, consolidating the gains made in other military operations, and further ensuring the security of Pakistan’s borders.