QUETTA: Pakistan’s security forces thwarted a series of coordinated militant attacks across multiple districts of Balochistan, killing 92 attackers including three suicide bombers, the military said on Saturday.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the assaults targeted Quetta, Gwadar, Panjgur, Mastung, Noshki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Turbat and Pasni on January 31, in what officials described as an attempt to destabilize the province by striking civilian areas.
ISPR said militants killed 18 civilians, including women, children and laborers, during attacks in Gwadar and Kharan before security forces launched clearance operations.
The military said coordinated counter-terror actions eliminated the attackers and prevented further casualties. Over the past two days, the total number of militants killed in Balochistan has risen to 133.
Fifteen soldiers were martyred during ongoing clearance operations, ISPR added.
The military said the attackers were directed by handlers operating from outside Pakistan and remained in direct contact with foreign facilitators during the assaults.
Sanitization operations remain underway in affected areas. ISPR said planners, facilitators and abettors would be pursued and brought to justice, adding that counter-terror operations will continue under the national security framework until militancy is fully dismantled.
