QUETTA: Pakistan Army on Monday expanded its search for the perpetrators behind multiple attacks that killed six troops and wounded 17 civilians in restive Balochistan the previous day.
The chief secretary of Balochistan, Abdul Aziz Uqaili, said there were a total of nine attacks in the province on Sunday. No civilians were killed in the attacks, he tweeted. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the violence in Balochistan.
9 different attacks by terrorists in various districts. All LEAs are alert. Emergency response teams have worked brilliantly and have managed to save all lives . As of now , no civilian life loss reported. pic.twitter.com/Rl4ByBjHdd
— Chief Secretary Balochistan (@cs_balochistan) December 25, 2022
Earlier, the military in a statement said five soldiers, including an army captain, were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near a security forces’ vehicle during a clearance operation in Kahan, a remote area in Balochistan bordering Afghanistan. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Heart-wrenching news from Balochistan about martyrdom of 5 soldiers including an Army Captain. The nation pays its tributes & respects to our heroes who laid down their lives for Pakistan. The perpetrators of terrorism will be brought to justice. Let there be no mistake about it.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) December 25, 2022
The sixth soldier was killed in a shootout with militants belonging to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group in the Sambaza town of Zhob district, according to Ghulam Azfar Mahesar, a deputy inspector general (DIG) of police.
A militant was also killed in the shootout, he said.
In Quetta, 12 people were wounded when assailants threw a hand grenade in a bazaar near a residential area, Mahesar added. Elsewhere in Balochistan, five people were wounded in attacks in the towns of Kalat, Khuzdar and Hub.
Based in Afghanistan, the TTP has stepped up attacks across Pakistan since November, when they unilaterally ended a cease-fire after accusing the military of violating the truce.
The militant group is an ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in the neighbouring country last year as US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the group.
