QUETTA: Eight suspected militants, including a local Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander, were killed by security forces in Balochistan's Ziarat district on Friday morning.

Sources told Dawn that an operation was conducted in the Chotair area of Ziarat during which a TTP commander and another seven militants were killed.

Security forces also claimed to have recovered arms and ammunition from the possession of militants.

Sources said that the deceased militants were involved in acts of kidnapping and other terrorist incidents in the area. They added that the militants who were killed appeared to be foreigners.

This incident has come a day after security forces and police picked up four militants from Quetta's Eastern Bypass area.

Security agencies are investigating the arrested militants who belong to the country's volatile tribal belt.

Police inspector killed in Mastung

Police said two motorcycle-riding armed men opened fire and killed police inspector Muhammad Amin Shahwani in Mastung Bazar area.

The assailants managed to escape from the scene after the attack.

Police and other law enforcement agencies reached the spot and started investigation into the incident.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but police sources said the incident appears to be an act of ongoing targeted killing in the province.

Balochistan has been under the grip of violence for many years. Militants in the area have been targeting security forces, vital national installations and pro-government personalities.