File Photo. Asif Hassan—AFP
Government officials say at least 12 soldiers have been martyred, 13 terrorists killed as clearance operation continues
Twelve soldiers, including an officer, have been martyred and at least 13 terrorists killed after the extremists targeted two separate security forces’ camps in Balochistan late on Wednesday night, according to Balochistan Home Minister Mir Zia Lango.
“A clearance operation is currently underway in Panjgur and we’ll know more about the exact casualties after it has been completed,” he said during a brief press conference from Quetta. To a question, he said there were also reports of a civilian casualty in Noshki.
Detailing the casualties, he said that nine terrorists had been killed in Noshki, while five Frontier Corps soldiers had been martyred and 12 others injured. On Panjgur, he said that as a clearance operation was still underway, because “4-5 terrorists have fled into a nearby market and are in hiding,” he could not give concrete figures. “However, I can confirm that 11 FC soldiers have been injured and seven have been martyred thus far,” he said. “Four terrorists have been slain,” he added.
Earlier, in a video statement, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had claimed that “a few terrorists remained at-large in Panjgur,” adding that the Army would soon defeat them. “This is a great victory of the Pakistan Army against terrorists,” he had added.
In a separate statement, the military’s media wing claimed that initial investigations had found that the terrorists were in “direct contact” with their handlers in Afghanistan and Iran. However, it did not specify the extremists’ affiliation. The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group, has claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement issued to media, but there has been no independent verification of this.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), seven soldiers, including one officer, have been martyred in the attacks on security forces’ camps in Pangur and Noshki. While the assault on Noshki camp has been “successfully repulsed,” it said, an operation was ongoing against extremists in Panjgur.
It said that the terrorists had tried to enter the Panjgur camp from two directions, but were foiled due to the timely response of the troops. In Noshki, said ISPR, the terrorists attempted to enter a Frontier Corps camp and the ensuing firefight resulted in four of them being killed.
“We salute our brave security forces who repulsed terrorist attacks against security forces’ camps in Panjgur and Noshki, Balochistan,” said Prime Minister Imran Khan in a posting on Twitter. “The nation stands united behind our security forces who continue to give great sacrifices to protect us,” he added.
There has been an uptick in attacks perpetrated by Baloch separatists in the past few months, with the Baloch Liberation Front claiming responsibility for an assault on a security forces’ checkpost in Kech district last week that resulted in the martyrdom of 10 soldiers.
The Kech incident, according to ISPR, occurred on the night of Jan. 25/26. It said that one terrorist was killed and several killed in a firefight. Two additional terror strikes have also been reported from Balochistan in the past week: a twin bombing in Dera Bugti that left three Levies Force personnel and a Bugti clan elder martyred and eight others injured; and a grenade attack in Jaffarabad district that injured 17, including two policemen.