• Large quantity of weapons, ammunition recovered from their hideouts
• Two killed, three injured in IED blast near Quetta
• Former Afghan army commander shot dead in Killi Raisani
QUETTA: At least seven terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Kharan district of Balochistan, security officials said on Sunday.
The operation was conducted in the Lajjay area of Kharan after intelligence reports indicated the presence of terrorists in the vicinity.
According to security sources, seven terrorists affiliated with Fitna al-Khwarij were killed, while several others were injured, using the term the state uses to identify the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its allied outfits.
A large quantity of modern weapons, ammunition and other military equipment was recovered from the terrorists’ hideouts, sources said.
Security forces also recovered a motorcycle and two vehicles from the area.
Sources said the terrorists were involved in extortion, abductions, targeted killings and planning suicide attacks, adding that their hideouts were subsequently destroyed.
The operation was carried out as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts under Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-3, aimed at eliminating terrorist networks and preventing attacks in the province.
President Asif Ali Zardari, in a statement, paid tribute to the security forces for the successful operation, calling the destruction of terrorist hideouts and recovery of arms and ammunition an “important achievement”.
“Actions against terrorist elements active under foreign patronage are indispensable for safeguarding national security,” the president said.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also praised the security forces for the success of the operation and appreciated their professional capabilities, his ministry said in a statement.
Roadside explosion claims two lives
Meanwhile, two people were killed and three others injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in the Wali Tangi area near Quetta on Sunday, police said.
According to police, unidentified attackers targeted a vehicle carrying a contractor and four labourers to the area, located around 30km from Quetta.
Senior Superintendent of Police Asif Ghafoor said the IED had been planted by the roadside and was detonated remotely as the pickup passed through the area.
“Five people, including the contractor, were injured in the blast and shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta,” he said, adding that two of the injured later succumbed to their injuries.
Officials said the contractor was taking the labourers to the area for construction work on tube wells.
The blast badly damaged the vehicle, police officials said, adding that police and Frontier Corps personnel reached the site soon after the explosion, cordoned off the area and shifted the injured to hospital.
Ex-Afghan commander killed
Meanwhile, unidentified armed men shot dead a former Afghan army official in Quetta, police said.
The incident took place in Killi Raisani, a locality on the outskirts of the provincial capital.
“Armed men riding a motorcycle targeted the former Afghan commander while he was passing through the area,” Adil Shah, a senior police officer at Shalkot police station, told Dawn.
He identified the victim as Haji Hazratullah alias Rorad Achakzai, a former army commander from Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
According to police, Hazratullah had migrated to Quetta in 2021 and had been living in Killi Raisani since then.
Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2026