QUETTA: At least 16 security personnel, including an officer, were injured during a search operation in Quetta’s Kali Barat area on Thursday.

The casualties occurred during a security forces’ search operation which turned into a clash. Militants attacked the forces with hand grenades and opened fire on them, resulting in the injuries.

Fayyaz Sumbal, the Deputy Inspector General Police told Dawn.com, police and para-military troops conducted an operation in Kharotabab area of Quetta against militants who were involved in targeted killings and bomb explosion.

He said operation was continued for four hours and when there was no chance of escape, terrorist blew themselves up.

The explosion is also said to have killed members of the militants’ families. Subsequently, the bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta.

Personnel from the Frontier Corps (FC), Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF), Balochistan police and intelligence agencies participated in the operation which started at 5 am.

An intelligence official who requested not to be named told the Dawn.com that two militants were from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni militant group. He said both were high profile militants living in a hidden house along with their family in Kharotabad. He said weapons were also recovered from the spot.

Security forces declared the area ‘clear’ after the operation concluded.

Opinion

Editorial

Tax unrest
Updated 14 Jul, 2025

Tax unrest

Govt has a very poor track record of staying the course of tough decisions that affect the ruling party’s core political base.
Surging numbers
14 Jul, 2025

Surging numbers

PAKISTAN is running out of time — and space. Our population, now over 240m, continues to grow at nearly 2pc a ...
Media matters
14 Jul, 2025

Media matters

PAKISTAN’s journalists are no strangers to living dangerously. The Freedom Network’s new report, Journalism in...
Hybrid worries
Updated 13 Jul, 2025

Hybrid worries

Once elected office is reduced to theatre, useful only for maintaining appearances, it becomes a stage for managing perceptions rather than exercising power.
Bitter taste
13 Jul, 2025

Bitter taste

THE government’s plan to import 350,000 tonnes of sugar, months after allowing the export of more than twice that...
No red lines
13 Jul, 2025

No red lines

THE US’ move to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied...