24 terrorists, 4 soldiers killed in separate clashes in Pak's Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

At least 24 terrorists and four Pakistani soldiers, including an army officer, were killed in separate encounters between security forces and militants in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the Pakistan Army said on Saturday, PTI reported. The army said security forces had carried out multiple intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Balochistan since Friday, targeting militant hideouts in the areas of Kolpur, Kardagap and Nushki. During an operation in Kolpur on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, troops killed eight terrorists, including a suicide bomber, and recovered a large cache of weapons and ammunition, the military said. The army said the militants used armed quadcopters to target military vehicles on patrol. The attack killed Major Omer Minhas Nasir and Havildar Muhammad Adnan Khan. The Pakistani government last year designated terrorist groups operating in Balochistan as 'Fitna al Hindustan'. Islamabad has alleged that these outfits carry out terrorist activities at India's behest, but has not provided evidence to support the claim. In June, India criticised Pakistan at the United Nations over the use of the term, calling it "officially sponsored misinformation and disinformation dressed in religious terminology." Separately, security forces conducted operations against militant hideouts in Mir Ali, Datta Khel and surrounding areas of North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, 16 militants were killed in the engagements. Twelve were killed in an operation in Ali Khel, while two each were killed in Mir Ali and Datta Khel.

Two soldiers, Havildar Asmat Ali and Naik Aftab Ali, were killed during the operations. The ISPR said both soldiers fought bravely and laid down their lives in the line of duty. It added that the operations had dealt a major blow to the militant network. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants, who, according to the military, were involved in several terrorist activities, including the killing of civilians. Pakistan's federal government uses the term 'Fitna al-Khawarij' for militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).