Security forces killed 27 terrorists in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Kacchi district, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Monday.

A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the IBO was conducted on Sunday based on the reported terrorist presence.

It said security forces “stealthily surrounded and effectively engaged the terrorists’ location”, as a result of which 27 terrorists were “sent to hell” after an intense exchange of fire.

“Multiple hideouts, including caches of arms, ammunition and explosives, were also destroyed during the operation,” the statement added.

According to the ISPR, the slain terrorists were “involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as innocent civilians and were highly wanted by the law enforcement agencies”.

“Security forces of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan,” the ISPR concluded.

The raid occurred two days after at least four people were injured in a blast from an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chaman, unknown armed men set a Levies post on fire in Mastung and an assistant commissioner narrowly escaped a bomb attack in Khuzdar on Friday.

According to officials, a powerful explosion occurred in the Station Road area of Chaman, a town near the Afghan border, in the afternoon as a Frontier Corps (FC) truck was passing through the area. Police said unknown people had planted the improvised explosive device on a motorcycle, which was parked on Station Road to target the FC truck carrying security personnel.

The FC truck survived the blast, as the explosion occurred after the truck had passed the point where the IED-laden motorcycle was parked. As a result of the blast, four people who were passing through the area at the time were injured.

Pakistan, particularly Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saw a sharp uptick in terrorism-related incidents in 2024.

With at least 685 members of security forces losing their lives amid a total of 444 terror attacks, 2024 turned out to be the deadliest year for civil and military security forces of Pakistan in a decade.

Equally alarming were the cumulative losses of civilians and security personnel: 1,612 fatalities, accounting for over 63 per cent of the total recorded this year and marking 73pc more losses compared to 934 outlaws eliminated.

In 2024, the banned militant Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) emerged as a key perpetrator of terrorist violence in Pakistan. The Pak Institute for Peace Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank, noted that BLA-orchestrated attacks caused 225 fatalities, according to the Pakistan Security Report 2024.