3 terrorists killed by security forces in Pakistan's Balochistan province

Karachi, Nov 3 (PTI) Three terrorists were killed in an anti-terror operation by security forces in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province on Sunday, officials said.

Acting on a tip-off, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) conducted an operation in the Rarhasham area of the Musakhel district, where three terrorists were killed and two were arrested, a CTD spokesperson said.

The terrorists were members of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has become active across Balochistan in the recent months, the spokesperson said.

“Forces [including] CTD, FC and police were deployed in the general area and late at night one of the deployed force contingent came across a group of 10-12 terrorists, moving towards the main road,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“The terrorists were intercepted and a heavy exchange of fire followed in which three of them were killed,” the spokesperson said.

Weapons and ammunition were seized from the terrorists during the operation.

On Friday, terrorists had carried out a bomb blast in Mastung near a secondary school targeting a police van in which nine people, including five schoolchildren were killed and 29 others injured.

Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan have seen a sharp uptick in terrorism-related incidents, carried out mainly by BLA, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its splinter groups, over the last few months.

In 2023, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations.

In recent months, BLA has stepped up their terror activities in Balochistan and also attempted to carry out attacks in the country’s biggest city and financial hub, Karachi. In a recent suicide bomb blast, two Chinese engineers were killed near the Karachi airport. PTI AYZ SCY SCY