At least eight terrorists of “Indian proxy” Fitna al-Hindustan—the state’s designation for the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA)—were killed when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) detonated prematurely in the Surab district of Balochistan, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.
“The premature detonation during preparation resulted in confirmed killing of eight terrorists with multiple injured,” read the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement. It said the blast also triggered the detonation of other explosives stored at the site, resulting in the deaths of three nearby civilians and injuries to several militants.
Following the incident, security forces and Balochistan Police reached the area and launched a joint clearance operation to track down the perpetrators and their facilitators.
According to the military’s media wing, security forces detected the movement of fleeing terrorists during the operation and killed 10 of them. Two soldiers were also injured in an exchange of fire, it said.
Sanitization operations are ongoing in the area to locate and eliminate any remaining terrorists, said the ISPR. It stressed that the relentless counterterrorism campaign being conducted under Vision Azm-e-Istehkam, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue at full pace.