The Frontier Corps (FC) and intelligence agencies conducted an operation in the Killi Shah Karaiz area of Loralai district of Balochistan on Wednesday and claimed to have recovered a large cache of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), said a press release by the army’s media wing.

The statement added the operation was targeted against a network of the proscribed Jamaat-ul-Ahrar led by Wahab Zakhbail.

A cache of 23 IEDs were recovered during the operation, said ISPR.

The IEDs were transported to the area to target vehicles of security forces and buses carrying students of Loralai University.

“Timely action of LEAs averted a major terrorist incident,” said ISPR.

Balochistan has been experiencing incidents of violence and targeted killings for over a decade. The largest province of the country by area, is home to a insurgency by ethnic Baloch separatists.

Al Qaeda-linked and sectarian militants also operate in the region. The province shares borders with Afghanistan and Iran.