Pakistan forces kill 17 militants in Balochistan

Pakistani security forces have killed at least 17 militants in a series of operations in the restive Balochistan province in reaction to the deadly train attack of last week, the army said on Tuesday.

At least 14 people were killed in a bomb attack by terrorists at a shuttle train in the military areas of the provincial capital Quetta on May 24. The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the blast.

According to a statement issued by the army, after the train incident, the security forces conducted a series of intelligence-based operations in Mastung, Nushki, Zehri, Khuzdar and Ketch districts of Balochistan. It said that during these operations, the troops effectively engaged multiple terrorist locations.

Following intense and fierce exchanges of fire, 17 terrorists belonging to the BLA “have been sent to hell, giving a significant blow to the terrorist networks operating in these areas,” it stated.

It added that weapons, ammunition and a large cache of explosives and prepared improvised explosive devices have also been recovered from the terrorists.

It further said that the sanitisation operations would continue to eliminate terrorists from these areas, as a relentless counter terrorism campaign would go on at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.