KARACHI: Pakistani police have killed six Daesh militants in an overnight raid in southwestern Balochistan province, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said on Sunday.
The militants, including one from the provincial police Redbook (wanted list) identified as Asghar Samalani were killed in a shootout at the QDA graveyard in Quetta, the provincial capital, as they were “moving to attack a sensitive installation,” the CTD said in a statement. Explosives, firearms and rounds of ammunition were seized from the site.
“A huge terrorism plan of DAESH defeated in Balochistan,” the CTD said. “The terrorists started indiscriminate firing and lobbed grenades on CTD Team. A shootout ensued. CTD Team took precautions. When firing stopped, 06 terrorists, including Asghar Sumalani, were found dead while 4-5 terrorists managed to escape taking benefit of darkness.”
Samalani had a Rs2 million ($11,400) bounty on his head. CTD said the other five killed in the shootout have yet to be identified.
“More raids are planned for other areas of Balochistan,” it said. “A big investigation has been launched to arrest remaining members of the Network.”
Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan in terms of land area, has long been marred by violent attacks carried out by Baloch separatists and militant groups, including Daesh.
In January last year, Daesh claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and execution of 11 coal miners who were members of the ethnic Hazara minority community. It was one of many such attacks in the province that is the focus of the $60-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor — a transport and energy link planned between western China and Pakistan’s southern deep-water port of Gwadar.
