Security forces kill seven terrorists in Khyber's Bara and Balochistan's Chagai

Pakistan’s security forces killed seven terrorists in two operations on Tuesday: five in an intelligence-based operation in the Bara area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and two in Balochistan’s Chagai district, according to security sources.

The five killed in Bara belonged to Fitna al Khawarij, the term the state uses for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), security sources said. “Large quantities of weapons and ammunition were recovered from the terrorists,” they said, adding that the militants’ hideouts in the area were completely destroyed.

In a separate operation in the Nokcha area of Chagai district, in the west of Balochistan near the borders with Afghanistan and Iran, two more terrorists were killed, Radio Pakistan reported, citing security sources. The two, from a group the state calls Fitna al-Hindustan, had set an empty water bowser on fire and then tried to escape, the sources said. Security personnel responded quickly and killed both.

Leaders praise the forces

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif commended the security forces, saying they had “demonstrated their professional capabilities, courage and bravery”. Operations, he said, would continue “until terrorism was completely eliminated from the country”.

President Asif Ali Zardari said the forces had “thwarted the terrorists’ nefarious designs through effective strategy”, and that “the entire nation was proud of the courage of the security forces”. Pakistan, he said, had “sacrificed thousands of its brave sons and daughters” in the fight against terrorism, and would “continue operations against terrorists with full force until the complete elimination of terrorism”.

A month of heavy fighting

Tuesday’s operations follow a sharp rise in both attacks and counter-terrorism action:

• Dera Ismail Khan: On Monday, security forces killed four terrorists in an intelligence-based operation under the Azm-e-Istehkam campaign, recovering a large cache of weapons and ammunition along with Afghan currency, Radio Pakistan reported.
• Shaban, Balochistan: Just two days earlier, more than 71 terrorists were killed in an operation in Balochistan’s Shaban area.
• September 28: A blast killed 12 people.
• September 19: A bombing at a mosque in Kohat killed 23 people.
• July: An ambush in Ziarat left more than 30 people dead.

These attacks have been carried out by several banned groups, including the TTP, Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan and groups the state calls Fitna al-Hindustan, its term for Balochistan-based militant outfits that Pakistan says are backed by India, The Express Tribune reported.

According to data from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, Balochistan remained the worst-hit province, with 378 people killed in August alone.

The Afghan link

The operations came on the same day that Information Minister Attaullah Tarar warned that terrorist “safe havens” remained in Afghanistan, and said Pakistan would respond to any attempt from across the border to destabilise the country. Pakistan says the TTP and allied groups plan and launch many of their attacks from Afghan soil. Afghan currency was among the items recovered from the militants killed in Dera Ismail Khan on Monday, according to Radio Pakistan.

Why it matters

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have carried the heaviest burden of the violence. Intelligence-based operations such as the one in Bara aim to strike militants before they can attack, and the government has made clear it intends to keep up the pressure. Read more on Tarar’s warning to the Afghan interim government and on the Shaban operation in Balochistan.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn, The Express Tribune and Radio Pakistan.