Pakistani Forces Eliminate 50 Militants in Balochistan Operation

Islamabad, Aug 13 (PTI): In a significant military operation spanning four days, Pakistani security forces have reportedly eliminated 50 militants in the contentious Balochistan province's border region. From August 7 to 11, the army conducted targeted actions against the insurgents in the Sambaza area of Zhob district, which lies adjacent to the Afghanistan border.

The military's overnight statement revealed that 47 members of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan were "eliminated" through successful engagements from August 7 to 9. Subsequently, forces launched a sanitisation effort in the Sambaza vicinity along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on the night of August 10-11.

During this operation, three additional militants were "neutralised," with recovered weapons, ammunition, and explosives from the deceased. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the armed forces for their successful mission, as reported by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, an ambush in Balochistan's southern Washuk district, bordering Iran, claimed the lives of nine security personnel, including an officer, and injured six others on Monday night, according to officials cited by the Dawn newspaper. The military has yet to issue an official statement regarding this attack.

The militants in Washuk also attempted to assault a police station recently transferred to police oversight. While the incident resulted in injuries to three policemen, security forces successfully thwarted the attack.