ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military said on Tuesday it has killed 17 militants in a series of intelligence-based operations across the southwestern province of Balochistan following a train bombing that killed more than 30 people last month.
The operations were launched after a May 24 suicide attack on a train carrying security personnel and their families near Quetta, the provincial capital. The attack was claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has waged a long-running insurgency in the mineral-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan.
In a statement, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said troops conducted raids in the districts of Mastung, Nushki, Zehri, Khuzdar and Kech, killing 17 militants belonging to what it described as “Fitna-al-Hindustan,” a term used by Pakistani officials to describe BLA militants it says are sponsored and supported by India.
New Delhi rejects the charge.
“Following intense and fierce exchanges of fire, seventeen terrorists belonging to Indian-sponsored Fitna-al-Hindustan have been sent to hell, giving a significant blow to the terrorist networks operating in these areas,” the ISPR said.
The military said security forces also recovered weapons, ammunition, explosives and improvised explosive devices from the militants, whom it accused of involvement in attacks in the province.
Balochistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years, including attacks targeting civilians, security forces and foreign nationals working on multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects.
The military said it was continuing with its operations “to wipe out the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”
