Pakistan’s military said Sunday that security operations in Balochistan over the past 96 hours killed more than 71 suspected militants.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said the deaths included militants killed during Operation Shaban in the Quetta and Ziarat areas and separate intelligence-based operations in Nushki and Mand.
Security forces killed 33 militants in the first phase of Operation Shaban, and another 23 in the next 72 hours, the ISPR said. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the hideouts of militants, it said.
In separate operations on Sept. 25, 11 militants were killed in Nushki and six others in Mand, according to the military.
ISPR said the clearance operations in Shaban and surrounding areas were ongoing.
The military said the militants belonged to groups it calls “Fitna al-Khawarij” and “Fitna al-Hindustan” and accused India and Afghanistan of supporting them. The allegations, which were not independently verified, were made by the Pakistani military.
Militant violence has been on the rise in Balochistan in recent months and Pakistani security forces have conducted a string of counterterrorism operations across the province.
