57 militants, 10 security personnel killed in ops across Pak's Balochistan

At least 57 militants and 10 security personnel were killed after coordinated attacks were carried out at security forces, law enforcement agencies and civilians at 12 different locations in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, according to a report by news agency PTI.

 

The attacks continued from late Friday night till Saturday afternoon.

 

Where did the attack take place?

 

According to the report, the attacks happened in several areas, including Quetta, Gwadar, Makran, Hub, Chaman and Naseerabad.

 

The militants also killed a family of five, including a woman and three children near Gwadar.

 

According to the report, militants had planted a large number of explosives on a railway track in Naseerabad district, which were later removed by the bomb disposal squad.

 

 

Identification of militants underway

 

The identification of the dead militants is still underway. It is not yet clear whether they were only separatist militants or also included members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

 

Security forces are carrying out clean-up operations in the affected areas, the report said.

 

Earlier operations in the province

 

These latest operations came a day after Pakistani security forces killed 41 militants in two separate operations in Panjgur and Harnai districts of Balochistan on Thursday and Friday.

 

Rising conflict in Balochistan

 

Balochistan is Pakistan’s poorest province despite being rich in natural resources. The region lags behind the rest of the country in education, jobs, and development.

 

Baloch separatist groups have increased attacks in recent years, targeting people from other provinces and foreign energy companies, whom they accuse of exploiting local resources.

 

Data from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) showed that deaths in the province rose from 787 to 956, marking an increase of nearly 22 per cent, PTI reported.