PESHAWAR: Militants attacked a headquarters of paramilitary security forces in northwest Pakistan early Wednesday, triggering an intense shootout in which at least four troops and three insurgents were killed, police said.
Mohammad Khurasani, spokesman for the outlawed Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on Frontier Constabulary in Tank, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Local police official Zahid Khan said about two dozen security personnel were also wounded in the attack, but that paramilitary forces had apparently taken control of the situation.
There was no immediate response from the military which was expected to issue a statement about the attack later Wednesday.
The Pakistani Taliban, led by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan movement, have been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power across the border in Afghanistan. They have stepped up attacks on security forces since December when a one-month-long ceasefire between TTP and the government ended.
Pakistani authorities say most of the fighters and leaders of TTP are hiding in Afghanistan.
Militants attack troops in northwest Pakistan, killing 4
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Militants attack troops in northwest Pakistan, killing 4
- About two dozen security personnel wounded in the attack, police says
- Pakistani Taliban claim responsibility for attack on Frontier Constabulary in Tank
Police kill five militants, foil plan to block highway in Pakistan’s southwest
- The militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Mastung district of Balochistan
- Search, combing operations are underway to apprehend accomplices of militants who fled the scene
QUETTA: Pakistan’s counterterrorism police on Monday said they had killed five militants, who were planning to block the Quetta–Sibi highway and target security forces, in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province.
The operation took place in Mastung district when militants affiliated with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were planning to carry out “subversive activities” against security forces and the public, according to a CTD spokesperson.
CTD received credible intelligence that armed BLA militants had taken positions near Mastung’s Dasht area to block the Quetta–Sibi highway and target security forces and civilian traffic. Acting swiftly on the information, CTD teams moved into the area. The militants opened indiscriminate fire upon sighting CTD personnel.
“During the encounter, five unknown terrorists were shot dead, while other accomplices managed to flee, taking advantage of the rugged and mountainous terrain,” the CTD spokesperson said in a statement.
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a separatist insurgency and witnessed a series of high-profile militant attacks last year. In March, the BLA hijacked a passenger train and the siege killed at least 60 people, while in May, a suicide bombing in Khuzdar killed several children on a school bus.
The separatists accuse the central government of stealing their resources to fund development in Punjab. The federal government denies the allegations and says it is working for the uplift of local communities in Balochistan, where China has been building a deep-sea port as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
Officials found seven hand grenades, five sub-machine guns with live rounds and three motorcycles from the scene, according to the CTD statement.
“Search and combing operations are underway to apprehend the fleeing terrorists and dismantle the remaining network,” it read.
