10 terrorists killed, four Rangers personnel martyred

DG Khan operation

DG KHAN/ MULTAN: Ten high-profile terrorists of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed in the Operation Raddul Fasaad in Dera Ghazi Khan tribal area on Friday, security officials told The News.

Three Punjab Rangers personnel were martyred during the operation, and three others, including a civilian, were injured seriously. They were shifted to the CMH Multan where one more Rangers personnel succumbed to his injuries, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) official said.

The Rangers, intelligence agencies and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) undertook a joint operation early Friday morning against the TTP terrorists and their facilitators. The terrorists had holed up in Basti Dadwani near Choti Zerin, 15-kms south of DG Khan.

During an exchange of fire, 9-10 hardened terrorists were killed, including Muhammad Asghar Dadwani alias Ustad Gorchani, Muhammad Naeem alias Waqas Dadwani, Yaqoob Dadwani, Fahad Dadwani, Sohail and Usman, while identification of the rest of the terrorists was in progress till the filing of the report.

Security officials said Asghar Dadwani belonged to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Iqbal Bali group and was the group’s mastermind in high-profile assassinations of public functionaries. The group had been involved in major sabotage activities.

The soldiers who embraced martyrdom include Havaldar Asif Iqbal, Sepoy Aftab Ahmed, Azizullah, Tanveer Ahmed, belonging to Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Mianwali and Lucky Marwat, respectively.

The injured soldiers were identified as Sepoy Tanveer of 11-Wing, Sepoy Abubakar of 11-Wing and a civilian Ashraf were brought to the CMH Multan by a helicopter on Friday afternoon. The operation was still continuing to flush out the terrorists.

As per the ISPR, the Namaz-e-Janaza of martyrs was offered at the Army Ground, Multan, and the bodies were sent to their native areas for burial.

Lt-Gen Sarfraz Sattar, Corps Commander, Multan, Director General Rangers Punjab Major General Azhar Naveed Hayat, serving and retired military officials attended the Namaz-e-Janaza.Eight suspected persons have also been arrested from the area.