Kuwait city: Fourteen more militants were killed during a sanitization operation by Pakistani security forces in the southwestern province of Balochistan, targeting militant infiltrators from the Afghanistan border. This operation brings the total militant deaths to 47, as reported by Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a press release on Saturday.
According to Kuwait News Agency, after successful engagements by security forces in the Sambaza area of Zhob District, a deliberate sanitization operation was executed in the surrounding areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border. The military statement claimed that "14 more Indian sponsored" militants were neutralized, with weapons, ammunition, and explosives recovered from the scene. The ISPR confirmed that the number of militants killed in the two-day anti-infiltration operation has now reached 47. The statement emphasized the security forces' dedication to securing the nation's borders and preventing any attempts to disrupt peace, stability, and progress in Pakistan.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed the nation's commitment to eradicating terrorism, stating that the people stand united with their security forces in this fight. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif also praised the security forces, acknowledging the risks they take to thwart terrorist infiltration and their success in disrupting such plans. He reiterated that the nation stands firmly with the security forces in combating terrorism. The operations occurred a day after an attack on a security forces vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Balochistan, which resulted in the death of three Pakistan army soldiers and four militants. The country has been experiencing an increase in terror attacks, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which share a border with Afghanistan.