Security forces kill four terrorists, round up 600 suspects, including Jamaat-ul-Ahrar facilitators; madrasas searched by Rangers in Punjab; militant group commander gunned down in Balochistan; terror bids foiled, arrests made in Hangu, Bagh; three target killers carrying arms held in Karachi
RAWALPINDI/TURBAT/KARACHI: Five terrorists were killed in Punjab and Balochistan on Saturday, as security forces continued to cripple the terrorists around the country.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), four terrorists were killed besides 600 suspects, including some Afghan nationals, were rounded up by the Rangers as part of the ongoing Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad from various parts of Punjab.
"Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad continues across the country. Punjab Rangers conducted over 200 search operations in areas of Punjab, including Karor, Layyah, and Rawalpindi,” said a news release of ISPR.
During the operation, suspected houses, madrasas and shops were searched. Those who have been apprehended by the Rangers included facilitators of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
And in Turbat district of Balochistan, security forces killed a commander of the alleged militant group and arrested six suspects in a search operation in the Blangoor area.
A security forces spokesman said the security forces personnel carried out the operation on a tip-off. He said the suspects opened fire on the security forces and an alleged militant commander Mullah Rafiq alias Duda was killed in a retaliatory fire.
On the other hand, the police foiled a major terror bid and arrested five suspects in Tal Bazaar of Hangu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Sources said the Hangu police during a search operation recovered two bombs planted outside a shop in Tal bazaar. The bomb disposal squad defused two devices, thus foiling a major terror bid.
According to the police, the two defused bombs weighed two kilogrammes each. One hand grenade and a gallon of petrol, which were kept therein for massive destruction in the area, were also seized.
The law enforcers shifted the arrested persons to some undisclosed location for interrogation.
And in Bagh, Azad Kashmir, the police foiled a major terror bid by arresting five Afghan terrorists and recovering 80 kilogrammes of explosives. SP Kamran Ali said the detainees were living in a rented house.
Separately, the security forces also recovered a huge cache of arms in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.
On the other hand, the CTD arrested three persons allegedly involved in targeted killings and seized a huge cache of weapons in Karachi.
SSP Omer Shahid Hamid told a media briefing at his office that an informant tipped them off that activists of a political party were planning to create unrest in the city and also transporting a huge cache of arms.
He said they conducted a raid in Malir Town’s Jafar-e-Tayyar Cooperative Housing Society, where they faced armed resistance.
After a brief exchange of fire, three persons – Anwaar Hussain alias Waqas, Asif Mumtaz alias Mir and Khurram Shehryar alias Lamba – were arrested.
He said they also confiscated three bags containing six Kalashnikovs, a light machine gun, six repeater rifles, five TT pistols, two 7mm rifles and a large number of bullets.
During interrogation, the accused were found to be involved in target killings, including the murders of Irfan Haider and Jameel Ahmed in Saudabad and Abdul Hafeez in Mali. Meanwhile, reports suggest the law enforcement agencies on a tip-off, conducted search operations at bus stations located in Islamabad and rounded up around 50 suspected persons, including four Afghans.
