ISLAMABAD: Four soldiers, including a major, were martyred and 24 terrorists killed in multiple intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the armed forces had been conducting multiple IBOs since Nov 13 around Kolpur, Kardagap and Nushki in Balochistan. The operations included area domination and patrolling along the QuettaTaftan National Highway (N-40) to keep it secure for local traffic and sustain operations.
It said that during an operation in Kolpur on the night of Nov 13 and 14, security forces ‘successfully neutralised eight Indian-sponsored terrorists of Fitna al-Hindustan, including a [would-be] suicide bomber’, and recovered a large cache of weapons and ammunition.
The state has designated Balochistan-based terrorist groups as Fitna al-Hindustan to highlight India’s role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.The ISPR said that on Nov 14, terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan targeted military vehicles on patrol with armed quadcopters, resulting in the martyrdom of Major Omer Minhas Nasir, a resident of Chakwal, and Havildar Muhammad Adnan Khan, from Kotli Sattian.
North Waziristan operations In an earlier statement, the ISPR said two soldiers were martyred and 16 terrorists killed as security forces continuedaseriesofIBOsinNorthWaziristan.
According to the military’s media wing, security forces engaged multiple terrorist hideouts in the general areas of Mir Ali, Datta Khel and surrounding localities.
‘Following fierce fire exchanges in the last twelve hours, 12 khwarij, including two Afghan nationals belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna al-Khawarij, were sent to hell in Ali Khel, while two khwarij each were neutralised in Mir Ali and Datta Khel, thereby causing a significant blow to the khwarij network operating in the area,’ the ISPR said.
Fitna al-Khawarij is a term used by the state for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The ISPR added that 43-year-old Havildar Asmat Ali and 32-year-old Naik Aftab Ali were martyred during the operations.
It further said weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the slain Indian-sponsored khwarij, ‘who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities, including the killing of innocent civilians’.
The statement said sanitisation operations would continue to eliminate remaining terrorists in the areas. It added that the counterterrorism campaign would continue at full pace to eliminate what it described as foreign-sponsored ter-rorism.
President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the security forces for the operations and expressed condolences over the deaths of the soldiers.
He said operations under the ongoing Azm-i-Istehkam campaign against foreign-sponsored terrorism would continue until the elimination of the last terrorist.
The latest operations came a day after the ISPR reported that 74 terrorists had been killed in IBOs in KP and Balochistan.
On Friday, it said 43 terrorists were killed in operations conducted over 48 hours in KP, including 35 in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, and eight in Orakzai district. Another 31 were killed in Balochistan during an operation launched on Nov 3.