Web Desk: Security forces repelled a series of coordinated militant attacks across Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, killing several attackers and containing ongoing clashes at a handful of locations.
The attacks targeted police, paramilitary installations and civilian areas in what authorities described as a multi-pronged operation claimed by the militant group Fitna Al Hindustan (FAH).
In Quetta, militants opened fire on a police van on Saryab Road, prompting an immediate response from police and Frontier Corps (FC) troops, officials said. Four attackers were killed in the exchange of fire.
Meanwhile, in Nushki district, militants carried out a firing raid on the FC headquarters. Alert security personnel returned fire, forcing the attackers to retreat, according to local officials.
Separately, militants attempted a suicide-style assault on the FC headquarters in Dalbandin. Security forces cordoned off the area, and a firefight was ongoing, officials said.
In Kalat, attackers targeted the deputy commissioner’s office and nearby police lines. Security forces responded, inflicting losses on the militants as clashes continued into the evening, authorities added.
Along the Makran coast, militants carried out a long-range firing attack on a Pakistan Coast Guard post in Pasni. Security forces thwarted the assault without reported damage to the facility.
In Pasni, militants carried out a firing raid on a Pakistan Coast Guard compound, officials said. Troops from the 9th Northern Light Infantry (NLI) and 9th Light Commando Battalion (LCB) secured the area and launched a precision response using mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
At the same time, militants attacked a labourers’ residential colony in Gwadar. Police and FC units reached the site quickly, and an exchange of fire was underway, officials said.
Militants also launched grenade and long-range firing attacks on security posts in Balicha, Tump and Mastung. All of those assaults were repelled, according to security officials.
Authorities said additional militant attacks on Besima, the Naval Base Turbat area, Rudhbon,, Phulabad, Tump, Gomzai, Malant and Kasano were repelled.
Authorities said security forces had brought the overall situation under control across the province. Two to three security personnel were injured in the attacks, officials said, adding that casualties among the attackers were “significant,” though no consolidated figure was provided.
FAH claimed responsibility for the assaults, branding them as part of an operation it called “Herof 2.0.” Security officials dismissed what they described as exaggerated claims circulating on social media and said operations against militants would continue.
Officials also said the attacks followed recent security operations in which more than 50 militants were killed across Balochistan over the past two days.
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