Four members of a banned outfit, including their ringleader were killed and seven others were arrested as the Frontier Corps (FC) in Balochistan carried out a search operation on Tuesday morning.
Sources said that an FC raid team, acting on a tip-off, raided a house being used as hideout by militants in the Chaki Shawani area in the outskirts of the city. The FC troops killed four of them after heavy exchange of fire. The FC also arrested four members of the banned outfit, while seizing a huge cache of weapons from the house. Two FC men also sustained mild injuries in the raid.
According to preliminary reports, some of the killed militants belonged to other provinces. The identity of those killed and arrested has not yet been revealed, but it is said that their ringleader was an expert of planning sabotage activities and manufacturing explosive devices.
The seized weapons included three AK47 with 100 rounds, two 107mm rockets, two anti-personal mines, a five-kilogramme IED, three remote controlled devices, and 80-kilogrammes explosives with ball-bearings.
Later, three suspected members of the banned outfits were rounded up in Akhtarabad and Sariab Road areas in raids.
The sources said the arrests were of paramount importance, adding that information extracted from them would lead to elimination of banned outfits involved in sectarian violence from the province.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Frontier Corps (IGFC) Major General Obaidullah Khattak vowed to continue action against the terrorists and criminals gangs in the province. He greeted the FC personnel which took part in the search operation, saying Quetta would be again turned into a peaceful abode of the people of all segments of life.
He expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in Kirani road blast, and thanked the citizens for lending cooperation to security forces during the action to ensure peace in the province.
