In a gun fight in Balochistan, 3 soldiers died and one terrorist was killed: ISPR
The military’s media affairs wing said that a terrorist was killed and three troops were killed when security forces responded to an attack on one of their posts in the Zarghoon area of Balochistan on Saturday.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the early-morning attack was done by a group of terrorists at a post that had just been set up to “help stop extortion attempts against coal mines in the area.”
The ISPR said that security forces “responded quickly to the fire raid” and pushed back terrorists. It also said that three troops died in the heavy exchange of fire and “one terrorist was sent to hell.”
“Based on follow-up ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) efforts, the likely hiding place of terrorists on the run has been found in nearby mountains, and a blocking and cleaning operation has begun,” the ISPR said in a statement.
It also said that the operation was going well and that security forces were keeping the pressure on so that attackers couldn’t leave the area.
“Security forces, along with the rest of the country, are still determined to stop attempts to hurt Balochistan’s peace, stability, and progress,” the statement said.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke out against the attack and honored the men who died.
Since the banned insurgent group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan broke its truce with the government in November, there has been a rise in terrorist attacks all over the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Six Pakistan Army troops were killed in a firefight with militants in the Dir Duni area of KP’s North Waziristan district earlier this month.
ISPR Director General Maj. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said at his first press meeting last month that at least 293 people had died and 521 had been hurt in 436 terrorist attacks over the past year.
In KP, 219 terrorist attacks killed 192 people. In Balochistan, 206 attacks killed 80 people, Punjab had 5 attacks that killed 14, and Sindh had 6 attacks that killed 7 people.
He had said that the army and police had done 8,269 intelligence-based operations the year before, during which 1378 suspected attackers were caught and 157 were killed.
The DG ISPR also said that in anti-terror actions this year, 137 security personnel had died and 117 had been hurt.