Abductee’s recovery operation: Five terrorists killed, soldier martyred in Ziarat area

RAWALPINDI: Security forces killed five terrorists during an operation on Friday to recover an abductee Omer Javed, a cousin of martyred Lt. Col Laiq Baig Mirza, in the Ziarat area, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

Havaldar Khan Muhammad was also martyred during the operation. A terrorists’ hideout was identified and cleared by the security forces near Khost in Khalifat mountains on Thursday night. Once encircled, the terrorists opened fire on the closing-in troops, resulting in Shahadat of a Havaldar. During the follow-up clearance operation, five terrorists belonging to proscribed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) were killed in heavy exchange of fire.

The ISPR said the sanitization operation, however, would continue in the area to recover Omer Javed and arrest the remaining perpetrators.